1979 College Football All-America Team

The 1979 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 1979. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1979 season. They are:^[1] (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) based on the input of more than 2,000 voting members;^[2] (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers;^[3] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers;^[4] and (4) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers.^[5] Other selectors included Football News (FN), the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),^[6] The Sporting News (TSN),^[7] and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).

Offense

Receivers

Ken Margerum, Stanford (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Art Monk, Syracuse (FWAA)
Johnny "Lam" Jones, Texas (TSN)
Rick Beasley, Appalachian State (AP-2)
Jackie Flowers, Florida State (UPI-2)
Wayne Baumgardner, Wake Forest (NEA-2)
Steve Coury, Oregon State (AP-3)

Tight ends

Junior Miller, Nebraska (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Mark Brammer, Michigan State (UPI-2)
Dave Young, Purdue (AP-2)
Mark Geisler, Ohio (NEA-2)
Benjie Pryor, Pittsburgh (AP-3)

Tackles

Greg Kolenda, Arkansas (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
Jim Bunch, Alabama (AP-1, AFCA [G], FWAA, UPI-2)
Tim Foley, Notre Dame (AP-2, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
Melvin Jones, Houston (AFCA, AP-3, WC)
Stan Brock, Colorado (NEA-2, TSN)
Steve McKenzie, Purdue (AP-2)
Irv Pankey, Penn State (NEA-2)
Ray Snell, Wisconsin (UPI-2, TSN)
Herman Parker, Long Beach State (AP-3)

Guards

Brad Budde, USC (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Ken Fritz, Ohio State (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
Mike Brock, Alabama (AP-2)
Pete Inge, San Diego State (AP-2, UPI-2)
George Stewart, Arkansas (UPI-2)
Mark Jones, Missouri (NEA-2)
Mark Goodspeed, Nebraska (NEA-2)
Wayne Inman, East Carolina (AP-3)
Craig Wolfley, Syracuse (AP-3)

Centers

Jim Ritcher, North Carolina State (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Dwight Stephenson, Alabama (AP-2, UPI-2)
Ray Donaldson, Georgia (AP-3, NEA-2)

Quarterbacks

Marc Wilson, Brigham Young (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
Art Schlichter, Ohio State (AP-3, UPI-2, NEA-1, TSN)
Paul McDonald, USC (AP-2)

Running backs

Charles White, USC (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Billy Sims, Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC
Vagas Ferguson, Notre Dame (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
George Rogers, South Carolina (AP-1, UPI-2, NEA-1)
James Brooks, Auburn (AP-2)
James Hadnot, Texas Tech (AP-2, UPI-2)
Dennis Mosley, Iowa (AP-3, UPI-2)
Jarvis Redwine, Nebraska (NEA-2)
Joe Cribbs, Auburn (AP-3, NEA-2)
Freeman McNeil, UCLA (AP-3)

Defense

Defensive ends

Hugh Green, Pittsburgh (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Curtis Greer, Michigan (AFCA, FWAA, UPI-2 [DT], NEA-1)
Jacob Green, Texas A&M (AP-1, UPI-2, WC)
Rick Antle, Oklahoma State (AP-2)
E. J. Junior, Alabama (AP-2)
John Adams, LSU (UPI-2)
Rush Brown, Ball State (NEA-2 [DL])
Gerry Gluscic, Indiana State (AP-3)
Bob Kohrs, Arizona State (AP-3)

Defensive tackles

Steve McMichael, Texas (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
Bruce Clark, Penn State (AFCA, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1 [NG], TSN, WC)
Jim Stuckey, Clemson (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1 [DE], NEA-1, TSN [DE])
Hosea Taylor, Houston (NEA-1)
Rulon Jones, Utah State (AP-2, NEA-2, TSN)
Doug Martin, Washington (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-2)
Cleveland Crosby, Arizona (AP-3)
Dino Mangiero, Rutgers (AP-3)

Middle guards

Ron Simmons, Florida State (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
Ken Loushin, Purdue (AP-2)
Kerry Weinmaster, Nebraska (UPI-2)
George Mays, Army (AP-3)

Linebackers

George Cumby, Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Mike Singletary, Baylor (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2, WC)
Ron Simpkins, Michigan (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
Dennis Johnson, USC (UPI-1, TSN)
Otis Wilson, Louisville (NEA-1, TSN)
David Hodge, Houston (AFCA, AP-2)
Dan Bass, Michigan State (AP-2)
Lance Mehl, Penn State (AP-2, UPI-2)
Otis Wilson, Louisville (AP-3, UPI-2)
Tom Boyd, Alabama (AP-3)
Bob Crable, Notre Dame (AP-3)

Defensive backs

Kenny Easley, UCLA (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Johnnie Johnson, Texas (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Roland James, Tennessee (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Don McNeal, Alabama (AP-3, NEA-1, TSN)
Mark Haynes, Colorado (AP-1, UPI-2)
Derrick Hatchett, Texas (AP-2)
Lovie Smith, Tulsa (AP-2)
Darrol Ray, Oklahoma (UPI-2)
Mike Guess, Ohio State (UPI-2)
Willie Teal, LSU (NEA-2)
Mark Lee, Washington (NEA-2)
Roynell Young, Alcorn State (NEA-2)
Vince Skillings, Ohio State (NEA-2)
Monk Bonasorte, Florida State (AP-3)
Dennis Smith, USC (AP-3)

Special teams

Kickers

Dale Castro, Maryland (FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Ish Ordonez, Arkansas (UPI-2, NEA-2)

Punters

Jim Miller, Ole Miss (FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
Mike Smith, Wyoming (UPI-2)
Ken Naber, Stanford (NEA-2)

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^[2]
AP – Associated Press^[3]
FWAA – Football Writers Association of America^[4]^[8]
UPI – United Press International^[5]

Other selectors

FN – Football News
NEA – Newspaper Enterprise Association^[6]
TSN – The Sporting News^[7]
WC – Walter Camp Football Foundation^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Football Coaches All America". The Republic (Columbus, Ind.). November 21, 1979. p. B3.
^ ^a ^b "Southern Cal star White repeats as All-America". The Pantagraph. December 5, 1979. p. B4.
^ ^a ^b Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "UPI All-America: Trojans Grab 3 Berths". The Daily News (Huntingdon). December 4, 1979. p. 5.
^ ^a ^b "NEA's 1979 All-America football team". The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). November 27, 1979. p. 4.
^ ^a ^b "Sporting News". The Arizona Republic. December 4, 1979. p. D2.
^ "Football Writers All America". The Republic (Columbus, Ind.). November 21, 1979. p. B3.

[CAA-1] "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. Retrieved March 18, 2017.

[AFCA-2] "Football Coaches All America". The Republic (Columbus, Ind.). November 21, 1979. p. B3.

[AP-3] "Southern Cal star White repeats as All-America". The Pantagraph. December 5, 1979. p. B4.

[FW-4] Ted Gangi (ed.). "FWAA All-America Since 1944: The All-Time Team" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2016.

[UPI-5] "UPI All-America: Trojans Grab 3 Berths". The Daily News (Huntingdon). December 4, 1979. p. 5.

[NEA-6] "NEA's 1979 All-America football team". The Daily News (Huntingdon, PA). November 27, 1979. p. 4.

[TSN-7] "Sporting News". The Arizona Republic. December 4, 1979. p. D2.

[8] "Football Writers All America". The Republic (Columbus, Ind.). November 21, 1979. p. B3.

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