1980 College Football All-America Team

The 1980 College Football All-America 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

• AFCA = American Football Coaches Association^{[citation needed]}
• AP = Associated Press^[2]
• FWAA = Football Writers Association of America^[3]
• UPI = United Press International^[4]

Unofficial selectors

• FN = Football News^{[citation needed]}
• NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association^[5]
• TSN = The Sporting News^{[citation needed]}
• WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation^[6]

See also

• 1980 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team
• 1980 All-Big Eight Conference football team
• 1980 All-Big Ten Conference football team
• 1980 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team
• 1980 All-SEC football team

References

1. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
2. "Green, Easley All-American". The Pantagraph. December 3, 1980. p. B3.
3. Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
4. "1980 UPI A-A Team". The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). December 5, 1980. p. 6.
5. Murray Olderman (December 2, 1980). "NEA's 1980 All-America football team". The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). p. 5.
6. "Walter Camp Foundation All-American Teams". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
7. John Nelson (September 3, 1989). "1980 AP All-America Team--a Decade Later". The New York Times.