Official list of the best college football players of 1976
The1976 All-America college football team is composed ofcollege football players who were selected asAll-Americans by various organizations and writers that choseCollege Football All-America Teams in 1976. TheNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1976 season. They are:[ 1] American Football Coaches Association (AFCA);[ 2] Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers;[ 3] Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers;[ 4] United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers.[ 5] Football News (FN),[ 6] Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),[ 7] The Sporting News [ 8] Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).
Three players were unanimously selected by all four official selectors and all five unofficial selectors. They were running backsTony Dorsett ofPittsburgh andRicky Bell ofUSC and defensive endRoss Browner ofNotre Dame .
The1976 USC Trojans football team led all others with five players who received first-team All-American honors in 1976. In addition to Ricky Bell, the USC honorees were offensive tackleMarvin Powell , defensive endDennis Thurman , defensive tackleGary Jeter , and punter Glen Walker. The consensus national championPittsburgh Panthers team had two first-team honorees: Tony Dorsett and middle guardAl Romano .
Consensus All-Americans [ edit ] The following charts identify the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1976 and displays which first-team designations they received.
Name Position School Number[ 9] Official Other Tony Dorsett Running back Pittsburgh 4/5/9 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI CFN, FN, NEA, TSN, WC Ricky Bell Running back USC 4/5/9 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI CFN, FN, NEA, TSN, WC Joel Parrish Offensive guard Georgia 3/4/8 AFCA, FWAA, UPI FN, NEA, TSN, WC Rob Lytle Running back Michigan 3/5/8 AFCA, AP, UPI CFN, FN, NEA, TSN, WC Larry Seivers Wide receiver Tennessee 3/4/7 AFCA, AP, UPI CFN, NEA, TSN, WC Mike Vaughan Offensive tackle Oklahoma 4/2/6 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI FN, WC Ken MacAfee Tight end Notre Dame 3/3/6 AFCA, FWAA, UPI CFN, NEA, WC Tommy Kramer Quarterback Rice 3/2/5 AFCA, AP, UPI CFN, WC Mark Donahue Offensive guard Michigan 2/3/5 FWAA, UPI FN, NEA, WC Derrel Gofourth Center Oklahoma State 2/1/3 AFCA, UPI FN Chris Ward Offensive tackle Ohio State 1/0/1 AFCA --
Name Position School Number[ 9] Official Other Ross Browner Defensive end Notre Dame 4/5/9 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI CFN, FN, NEA, TSN, WC Bill Armstrong Defensive back Wake Forest 4/3/7 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI FN, TSN, WC Robert Jackson Linebacker Texas A&M 4/3/7 AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI FN, TSN, WC Dave Butterfield Defensive back Nebraska 3/4/7 AFCA, AP, UPI CFN, FN, NEA WC Bob Brudzinski Defensive end Ohio State 3/2/6 AFCA, AP, FWAA CFN, TSN, WC Al Romano Middle guard Pittsburgh 3/3/6 AFCA, AP, UPI CFN, NEA, WC Gary Green Defensive back Baylor 2/4/6 AFCA, AP CFN, NEA, TSN Wilson Whitley Defensive tackle Houston 3/2/5 AFCA, AP, FWAA FN, WC Joe Campbell Defensive tackle Maryland 2/2/4 AFCA, FWAA CFN, NEA, TSN Gary Jeter Defensive tackle USC 2/1/3 FWAA, UPI NEA Jerry Robinson Linebacker UCLA 2/1/3 AP, FWAA NEA Dennis Thurman Defensive back USC 2/1/3 AP, FWAA WC
Larry Seivers (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, TSN, CFN) Jim Smith , Michigan(AP-1, UPI-2, TSN, FN, NEA-2) Wes Chandler , Florida(AP-3, FN, NEA-1) Luther Blue , Iowa State(AP-3, FWAA) Jim Corbett , Pittsburgh(AP-2) Billy Ryckman , Louisiana Tech(AP-2) Tony Hill , Stanford(NEA-2) Mike Vaughan (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, FN) Chris Ward (AFCA [g], AP-2, UPI-2) Warren Bryant , Kentucky(AFCA, AP-2, TSN, CFN, NEA-2, WC) Marvin Powell , USC(AP-3, UPI-1, TSN, FN) Morris Towns , Missouri(NEA-1, CFN) Mike Wilson , Georgia,(AP-1, UPI-2, NEA-1) Val Belcher , Houston(NEA-2) Steve August , Tulsa(AP-3) Mark Donahue (FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, FN) Joel Parrish (AFCA, AP-3, FWAA, UPI-1, FN, NEA-2, TSN, WC) Steve Schindler , Boston College(AP-2, FWAA, NEA-1, TSN, CFN) Ted Albrecht , California(AP-1) T.J. Humphreys, Arkansas State(AP-1) Bill Dufek, Michigan(CFN) Tom Brzoza , Pittsburgh(AP-2, UPI-2) Donnie Hickman, USC(UPI-2, NEA-2) Mitch Hoban, Ball State(AP-3) Derrel Gofourth (AFCA, UPI-1, FN) Billy Bryan , Duke(AP-2, FWAA, WC) John Yarno , Idaho(AP-1) R. C. Thielemann , Arkansas(NEA-1) Bob Rush , Memphis State(NEA-2, TSN) Mitch Kahn, UCLA(CFN) Leo Tierney, Georgia Tech(AP-3, UPI-2) Tommy Kramer (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, WC, CFN) Gifford Nielsen , BYU(AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2) Vince Ferragamo , Nebraska(AP-3, FN) Joe Roth , California(TSN) Jeff Dankworth , UCLA (NEA-1) Mark Manges , Maryland(NEA-2) Tony Dorsett (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, CFN, FN, NEA-1, TSN, WC) Ricky Bell (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, CFN, FN, NEA-1, TSN, WC) Rob Lytle (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, CFN, FN, NEA-2, WC) Terry Miller , Oklahoma State(AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2) Wendell Tyler , UCLA () Scott Dierking , Purdue(AP-2) Tony Reed , Colorado(AP-2) Mike Voight , North Carolina(AP-2, UPI-2) Pete Johnson , Ohio State(UPI-2) Andre Herrera, Southern Illinois(AP-3) Derrick Jensen , Texas-Arlington(AP-3) Jerome Persell, Western Michigan(AP-3) Ross Browner (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, CFN, FN, NEA-1, TSN, WC) Bob Brudzinski (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, CFN, NEA-2, TSN [LB]) Mike Butler , Kansas(NEA-1 [DT], TSN [DT], FN) Duncan McColl , Stanford(AP-2, UPI-1, CFN, WC) Robin Cole , New Mexico(AP-3, UPI-2, NEA-2 [LB]) Nate Toran, Rutgers(AP-2) Phil Dokes , Oklahoma State(NEA-2) Cary Godette, East Carolina(AP-3) Joe Campbell (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2, CFN, NEA-1, TSN [DE]) Wilson Whitley (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, FN, NEA-2, WC) Gary Jeter (AP-2, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1 [DE]) Mike Fultz , Nebraska(UPI-1, FN, NEA-2, TSN, WC) Eddie Edwards , Miami (Fla.)(AP-1) Phil Dokes , Oklahoma State(AP-3, CFN) Nick Buonamici, Ohio State(UPI-2) Wilson Faumuina , San Jose State(AP-3) Al Romano (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, FN, NEA-1, WC) Gary Don Johnson, Baylor(AP-2) Mike Stensrud , Iowa State(NEA-2) Harvey Hull, Mississippi State(UPI-2) Jeff Sapp, Navy(AP-3) Robert Jackson (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, FN, NEA-1, TSN, WC) Jerry Robinson (AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1) Thomas Howard , Texas Tech(AFCA, AP-2, CFN, WC) Calvin O'Neal , Michigan(AP-2, UPI-1, CFN, TSN, WC) Brian Ruff, The Citadel(AP-1, UPI-2) Kurt Allerman , Penn State(AP-3, UPI-1) Gary Spani , Kansas State(FN) Paul Nunu, Wyoming(FN) Clete Pillen, Nebraska(AP-2, UPI-2) Scott Studwell , Illinois(AP-3, NEA-2) Dave Lewis , USC(UPI-2) Ray Costict , Mississippi State(AP-3) Bill Armstrong (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, FN, TSN, WC) Dave Butterfield (AFCA, AP-3, UPI-1, CFN, FN, NEA-1, WC) Gary Green (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-2, CFN, NEA-1, TSN) Dennis Thurman (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, WC) Oscar Edwards , UCLA(AFCA, UPI-1) Luther Bradley , Notre Dame(FN, NEA-2, WC) Mike Davis , Colorado(NEA-1) Stan Black , Mississippi State(AP-2, NEA-1) Lester Hayes , Texas A&M(TSN) Eric Harris , Memphis State(CFN) Raymond Clayborn , Texas(NEA-2, TSN) Zac Henderson , Oklahoma(AP-2) Jimmy Stewart, Tulsa(AP-2) Jim Bolding, East Carolina(NEA-2) Ray Griffin , Ohio State(UPI-2, NEA-2) Bob Jury , Pittsburgh(AP-3) Jeff Nixon , Richmond(AP-3) Bold – Consensus All-American[ 1] -1 – First-team selection -2 – Second-team selection -3 – Third-team selection ^a b "Football Award Winners" (PDF) .National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 11. RetrievedMarch 18, 2017 .^a b "Bell, Dorsett repeat choices by coaches" .The Pantagraph . November 25, 1976. p. C4.^a b "Tony Dorsett tops AP All-American Team" .Jefferson City Post Tribune . December 2, 1976. p. 13.^a b Ted Gangi (ed.)."FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF) . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. RetrievedMarch 2, 2016 . ^a b "Butterfield, Fultz make UPI All-America team" .The Lincoln Star . December 3, 1976. p. 21.^a b "Football News All America Team" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch . December 2, 1976. p. 5C.^a b "Dorsett leads All-Americans" .The Hillsdale Daily News . December 1, 1976. p. 13.^a b "Sporting News Picks Three in Big Eight" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch . December 12, 1976. p. 2G.^a b This column lists the number of selectors choosing the player as a first-team All-American as follows: official selectors/other selectors/total selectors. ^ "1976 NEA All-American Team" .Lubbock Avalanche-Journal . December 8, 1976.
