The 1972 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1972. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1972 season. They are:[1] (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) which selected its team for Kodak based on a vote of the nation's coaches; (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers; (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers; (4) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) selected based on the votes of sports writers at NEA newspapers; (5) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers; and (6) the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).
Eight players are recognized by the NCAA as unanimous All-America selections. They are: (1) wide receiver and 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska; (2) tight end Charles Young of USC; (3) offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore of Texas; (4) offensive guard John Hannah of Alabama; (5) running back Greg Pruitt of Oklahoma; (6) defensive tackle Greg Marx of Notre Dame; (7) middle guard Rich Glover of Nebraska; and (8) defensive back Brad Van Pelt of Michigan State.
The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1972 and displays which first-team designations they received.
| Name | Position | School | Number | Official | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Glover | Middle guard | Nebraska | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| John Hannah | Offensive guard | Alabama | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Greg Marx | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Johnny Rodgers | Wide receiver | Nebraska | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Jerry Sisemore | Offensive tackle | Texas | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Charle Young | Tight end | USC | 6/3/9 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Greg Pruitt | Running back | Oklahoma | 6/2/8 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, TSN |
| Brad Van Pelt | Defensive back | Michigan State | 6/2/8 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | Time, TSN |
| Tom Brahaney | Center | Oklahoma | 5/3/8 | AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, Time, TSN |
| Willie Harper | Defensive end | Nebraska | 5/2/7 | AFCA, AP, NEA, UPI, WC | FN, TSN |
| Dave Butz | Defensive tackle | Purdue | 4/2/6 | AFCA, NEA, UPI, WC | Time, TSN |
| Bert Jones | Quarterback | LSU | 3/3/6 | AFCA, NEA, UPI | FN, Time, TSN |
| Otis Armstrong | Running back | Purdue | 4/1/5 | AP, FWAA, UPI, WC | TSN |
| Bruce Bannon | Defensive end | Penn State | 4/1/5 | AFCA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN |
| Randy Gradishar | Linebacker | Ohio State | 4/1/5 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI | FN |
| Cullen Bryant | Defensive back | Colorado | 3/2/5 | AFCA, NEA, UPI | Time, TSN |
| Paul Seymour | Offensive tackle | Michigan | 3/2/5 | AFCA, FWAA, NEA | Time, TSN |
| Ron Rusnak | Offensive guard | North Carolina | 4/0/4 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI | -- |
| Randy Logan | Defensive back | Michigan | 3/1/4 | AFCA, UPI, WC | FN |
| Woody Green | Running back | Arizona State | 3/0/3 | AP, NEA, UPI | -- |
| Robert Popelka | Defensive back | SMU | 3/0/3 | AP, FWAA, WC | -- |
| John Skorupan | Linebacker | Penn State | 3/0/3 | AP, FWAA, NEA | -- |