1980 College Football All-America Team

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),^[2] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA),^[3] and (4) the United 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, included Football News, a national weekly football publication, the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),^[5] The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter 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 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.^[7]

^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
^ Cite error: The named reference AP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference FW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference UPI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference NEA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference WC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ John Nelson (September 3, 1989). "1980 AP All-America Team--a Decade Later". The New York Times.

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

[AP-2] Cite error: The named reference AP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FW-3] Cite error: The named reference FW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[UPI-4] Cite error: The named reference UPI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[NEA-5] Cite error: The named reference NEA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[WC-6] Cite error: The named reference WC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[7] John Nelson (September 3, 1989). "1980 AP All-America Team--a Decade Later". The New York Times.

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