1980 All-America college football team
Official list of the best college football players of 1980
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1980 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1980.
The NCAA recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1980 season.[1] They are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP),[2] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA),[3] and (4) the United Press International (UPI).[4] The AP, UPI, and FWAA teams were selected by polling of sports writers and/or broadcasters. The AFCA team was based on a poll of coaches. Other notable selectors, though not recognized by the NCAA as official, included Football News, a national weekly football publication, the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),[5] The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).[6]
Fourteen players were unanimous picks by all four official selectors. Seven of the unanimous picks were offensive players: (1) South Carolina running back and 1980 Heisman Trophy winner, George Rogers; (2) Georgia running back and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, Herschel Walker; (3) Purdue quarterback and 1980 Sammy Baugh Trophy winner, Mark Herrmann; (4) Stanford wide receiver Ken Margerum; (5) Purdue tight end Dave Young; (6) Pittsburgh tackle Mark May; and (7) Notre Dame center John Scully. The seven unanimous picks on the defensive side were: (1) Pittsburgh defensive end Hugh Green, who won the 1980 Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award, Lombardi Award, and Sporting News and UPI College Football Player of the Year awards; (2) Alabama defensive end E.J. Junior; (3) Houston defensive tackle Leonard Mitchell; (4) Baylor linebacker Mike Singletary; (5) North Carolina linebacker Lawrence Taylor; (6) UCLA defensive back Kenny Easley; and (7) USC defensive back Ronnie Lott.
In 1989, The New York Times published a follow-up on the 1980 AP All-America team. The article reported that 20 of the 22 first-team players went on to play in the NFL, with 13 still active and eight having received All-Pro honors.[7]
Offensive selections
Wide receivers
- Ken Margerum, Stanford (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
- Anthony Carter, Michigan (CFHOF) (AP-1, NEA-2, TSN)
- Cris Collinsworth, Florida (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-1)
- Mardye McDole, Mississippi State (NEA-2, TSN)
- David Verser, Kansas (AP-2)
- Bobby Stewart, Texas Christian (AP-3)
Tight ends
- Dave Young, Purdue (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, TSN, WC)
- Marvin Harvey, Southern Mississippi (NEA-1)
- Clay Brown, Brigham Young (AP-3, UPI-2)
- Benjie Pryor, Pitt (AP-2)
- Rodney Holman, Tulane (NEA-2)
Tackles
- Mark May, Pittsburgh (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2 [guard], TSN, WC)
- Keith Van Horne, USC (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
- Nick Eyre, BYU (AFCA, AP-3, FWAA, UPI-2 [guard], NEA-1)
- Bill Dugan, Penn St. (AFCA, AP-3)
- Ken Lanier, Florida State (AP-2)
- Curt Marsh, Washington (NEA-2)
Guards
- Randy Schleusener, Nebraska (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
- Louis Oubre, Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-2 [tackle], FWAA, UPI-2 [tackle], NEA-2 [tackle], WC)
- Ron Wooten, North Carolina (AP-3, UPI-2, NEA-1, WC)
- Roy Foster, USC (UPI-1, NEA-2)
- Frank Ditta, Baylor (AP-1)
- Billy Ard, Wake Forest (TSN)
- Terry Crouch, Oklahoma (TSN)
- Sean Farrell, Penn State (AP-2)
- Joe Lukens, Ohio State (AP-2)
- Howard Richards, Missouri (UPI-2)
- Frank McCallister, Navy (AP-3)
Centers
- John Scully, Notre Dame (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
- George Lilja, Michigan (AP-3, UPI-2, NEA-2, WC)
- Rick Donnalley, North Carolina (AP-2)
Quarterbacks
- Mark Herrmann, Purdue (CFHOF) (AFCA [tie], AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC)
- Jim McMahon, BYU (CFHOF) (AFCA [tie], AP-2, UPI-2)
- Art Schlichter, Ohio State (NEA-1)
- John Elway, Stanford (CFHOF) (AP-3, NEA-2, TSN)
Running backs
- George Rogers, South Carolina (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Herschel Walker, Georgia (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Jarvis Redwine, Nebraska (AFCA, UPI-1, WC)
- Freeman McNeil, UCLA (AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2)
- James Brooks, Auburn (AP-2, NEA-2)
- Walter Abercrombie, Baylor (AP-3)
- Marcus Allen, USC (CFHOF) (AP-3, UPI-2)
- Dwayne Crutchfield, Iowa State (UPI-2)
- Stump Mitchell, The Citadel (AP-3)
Defensive selections
Defensive ends
- Hugh Green, Pittsburgh (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- E.J. Junior, Alabama (AFCA, AP-1 [LB], FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Scott Zettek, Notre Dame (AP-1)
- Derrie Nelson, Nebraska (AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2)
- Don Blackmon, Tulsa (AP-2)
- Lyman White, LSU (NEA-2)
- Rich Dixon, California (AP-3)
- Rickey Jackson, Pittsburgh (AP-3, UPI-2)
Defensive tackles
- Leonard Mitchell, Houston (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Kenneth Sims, Texas (CFHOF) (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
- Hosea Taylor, Houston (FWAA, WC, NEA-2 [NG])
- Vince Goldsmith, Oregon (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-2)
- Mike Trgovac, Michigan (AP-2)
- John Harty, Iowa (UPI-2, NEA-2)
- Calvin Clark, Purdue (AP-3)
- Elvin Keller, West Texas State (AP-3)
Middle guards
- Ron Simmons, Florida State (CFHOF) (AFCA, UPI-1, WC)
- Jim Burt, Miami (Fla.) (NEA-1)
- Stan Gardner, Kansas (UPI-2)
Linebackers
- Mike Singletary, Baylor (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, TSN)
- Bob Crable, Notre Dame (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-2, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- David Little, Florida (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, FN, NEA-2)
- Tom Boyd, Alabama (AP-3, UPI-2, WC)
- Marcus Marek, Ohio State (AP-3, UPI-2)
- Andy Cannavino, Michigan (AP-2)
- Reggie Herring, Florida State (AP-2)
- Ricky Young, Oklahoma State (AP-2)
- Chip Banks, USC (AP-3)
Defensive backs
- Kenny Easley, UCLA (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- Ronnie Lott, USC (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
- John Simmons, SMU (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2)
- Scott Woerner, Georgia (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-2, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
- Bobby Butler, Florida State (AP-3, NEA-1)
- Bill Whitaker, Missouri (NEA-1)
- Ted Watts, Texas Tech (NEA-2, TSN)
- Hanford Dixon, Southern Mississippi (TSN)
- Tim Wilbur, Indiana (AP-2)
- Tommy Wilcox, Alabama (AP-2)
- Todd Bell, Ohio State (UPI-2, NEA-2)
- Jeff Hipp, Georgia (UPI-2)
- Jeff Griffin, Utah (NEA-2)
- Vann McElroy, Baylor (AP-3)
- Dennis Smith, USC (AP-3)
Special teams
Kickers
- Rex Robinson, Georgia (FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
- Bill Capece, Florida State (UPI-2, TSN)
- Obed Ariri, Clemson (NEA-2)
Punters
- Rohn Stark, Florida State (FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, TSN)
- Ray Stachowicz, Michigan State (UPI-2, NEA-1, WC)
Key
- Bold – Consensus All-American[1]
- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
Official selectors
Unofficial selectors
- FN = Football News[citation needed]
- NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association[5]
- TSN = The Sporting News[citation needed]
- WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation[6]