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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v t e 1979 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
Offense	QB Marc Wilson RB Vagas Ferguson RB Billy Sims RB Charles White WR Ken Margerum TE Junior Miller OT Greg Kolenda OT Tim Foley G Brad Budde G Jim Bunch G Ken Fritz C Jim Ritcher
Defense	DL Bruce Clark DL Hugh Green DL Steve McMichael DL Ron Simmons DL Jim Stuckey LB George Cumby LB Ron Simpkins LB Mike Singletary DB Kenny Easley DB Roland James DB Johnnie Johnson
Special teams	K Dale Castro P Jim Miller