Official list of the best college football players of 1980
The1980 All-America college football team is composed ofcollege football players who were selected asAll-Americans by various organizations that choseCollege Football All-America Teams in 1980.
TheNCAA recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1980 season.[ 1] They are (1) theAmerican Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) theAssociated Press (AP),[ 2] (3) theFootball Writers Association of America (FWAA),[ 3] and (4) theUnited 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, includedFootball News , a national weekly football publication, theNewspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),[ 5] The Sporting News (TSN), and theWalter 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 1980Heisman Trophy winner,George Rogers ; (2) Georgia running back and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner,Herschel Walker ; (3) Purdue quarterback and 1980Sammy Baugh Trophy winner,Mark Herrmann ; (4) Stanford wide receiverKen Margerum ; (5) Purdue tight endDave Young ; (6) Pittsburgh tackleMark May ; and (7) Notre Dame centerJohn Scully . The seven unanimous picks on the defensive side were: (1) Pittsburgh defensive endHugh Green , who won the 1980Walter Camp Award ,Maxwell Award ,Lombardi Award , andSporting News andUPI College Football Player of the Year awards; (2) Alabama defensive endE.J. Junior ; (3) Houston defensive tackleLeonard Mitchell ; (4) Baylor linebackerMike Singletary ; (5) North Carolina linebackerLawrence Taylor ; (6) UCLA defensive backKenny Easley ; and (7) USC defensive backRonnie 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 [ edit ] 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) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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 [ edit ] 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) 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) Ron Simmons , Florida State (CFHOF)(AFCA ,UPI-1 , WC) Jim Burt , Miami (Fla.)(NEA-1) Stan Gardner, Kansas(UPI-2) 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) 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) Bold – Consensus All-American[ 1] -1 – First-team selection -2 – Second-team selection -3 – Third-team selection Unofficial selectors [ edit ] ^a b "Football Award Winners" (PDF) .National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. RetrievedMarch 18, 2017 .^a b "Green, Easley All-American" .The Pantagraph . December 3, 1980. p. B3.^a b Ted Gangi (ed.)."FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF) . Archived fromthe original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. RetrievedOctober 5, 2015 . ^a b "1980 UPI A-A Team" .The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA) . December 5, 1980. p. 6.^a b Murray Olderman (December 2, 1980)."NEA's 1980 All-America football team" .The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA) . p. 5. ^a b "Walter Camp Foundation All-American Teams" . Archived fromthe original on March 30, 2009. RetrievedMarch 24, 2009 .^ John Nelson (September 3, 1989)."1980 AP All-America Team--a Decade Later" .The New York Times .
Offense Defense Special teams