The1979 All-East football team consists ofAmerican football players chosen by theAssociated Press as the best players at each position among the Eastern colleges and universities during the1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team was the only Eastern team to finish in the top ten, ranking No. 6 in the final UPI poll and No. 7 in the final AP poll. Pitt placed five players on the All-Eastern first team: defensive endHugh Green, offensive tackleMark May, tight end Benjie Pryor, and defensive backs JoJo Heath and Terry White.

Three of the players who won first-team honors on the All-East team also received first-team honors on the1979 All-America college football team: wide receiverArt Monk of Syracuse; defensive end Hugh Green of Pitt; and defensive tackleBruce Clark of Penn State.

• Bill Hurley, Syracuse (AP-1)
• Brian Broomell, Temple (AP-2)

• Joe Morris, Syracuse (AP-1)
• Matt Suhey, Penn State (AP-1)
• Mark Bright, Temple (AP-2)
• Angelo Colosimo, Colgate (AP-2)

• Benjie Pryor, Pitt (AP-1)
• Paul Columbia, Villanova (AP-2)

• Gerald Lucear, Temple (AP-1)
• Art Monk, Syracuse (AP-1)
• Rich Horner, Harvard (AP-2)
• Darrell Miller, West Virginia (AP-2)

• Mark May, Pitt (AP-1)
• Irv Pankey, Penn State (AP-1)
• Kevin Kurdyla, Rutgers (AP-2)
• John Sinnott, Brown (AP-2)

• Frank McCallister, Navy (AP-1)
• Craig Wolfley, Syracuse (AP-1)
• Tom Donnelly, Cornell (AP-2)
• Dan Fidler, Pitt (AP-2)

• Bill Chaplick, Boston College (AP-1)
• Pat Conochan, West Virginia (AP-2)

• Hugh Green, Pitt (AP-1)
• Charlie Thornton, Navy (AP-1)
• Rickey Jackson, Pitt (AP-2)
• Larry Kubin, Penn State (AP-2)

• Bruce Clark, Penn State (AP-1)
• Dino Mangiero, Rutgers (AP-1)
• Dave Conrad, Yale (AP-2)
• Matt Millen, Penn State (AP-2)

• George Mayes, Army (AP-1)
• Jerry Boyarsky, Pitt (AP-2)

• Jim Collins, Syracuse (AP-1)
• Lance Mehl, Penn State (AP-1)
• Tim Tumpane, Yale (AP-1)
• Mike Curcio, Temple (AP-2)
• Jeff Dziama, Boston College (AP-2)
• Joe Murphy, Colgate (AP-2)

• Jo Jo Heath, Pitt (AP-1)
• Bernie Hober, Villanova (AP-1)
• Terry White, Pitt (AP-1)
• Deron Cherry, Rutgers (AP-2)
• Jerry Holmes, West Virginia (AP-2)
• Glenn Verrette, Holy Cross (AP-2)

• AP =Associated Press^[1]

• 1979 College Football All-America Team

• 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season
• All-Eastern college football teams

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023