1980 College Football All-America Team Explained

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), (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and (4) the United Press International (UPI). 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), The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).

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.^[2]

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
AP = Associated Press^[3]
FWAA = Football Writers Association of America^[4]
UPI = United Press International^[5]

Unofficial selectors

FN = Football News
NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association^[6]
TSN = The Sporting News
WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation^[7]

Notes and References

Web site: Football Award Winners. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. March 18, 2017. 3, 12.
News: 1980 AP All-America Team--a Decade Later. John Nelson. The New York Times. September 3, 1989.
News: Green, Easley All-American. The Pantagraph. December 3, 1980. B3.
Web site: FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team. Ted Gangi. October 5, 2015. March 4, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190304073432/http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/allamerica/alltime.pdf. dead.
News: 1980 UPI A-A Team. The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). December 5, 1980. 6.
News: NEA's 1980 All-America football team. Murray Olderman. The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). December 2, 1980. 5.
Web site: Walter Camp Foundation All-American Teams . https://web.archive.org/web/20090330065940/http://waltercamp.org/index.php/teams_and_awards . 2009-03-30 . dead . 2009-03-24 .