1972 College Football All-America Team

Official list of the best college football players of 1972

1972 College Football All-America Team
College Football All-America Team
1972 NCAA University Division football season
1970 1971 ← → 1973 1974

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] (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] (4) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) selected based on the votes of sports writers at NEA newspapers;[5] (5) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers;[6] 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.[7]

Consensus All-Americans

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 --

Offense

Receivers

  • Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska (AFCA [flanker], AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN, Time TSN)
  • Steve Holden, Arizona State (FWAA, NEA-2, TSN, Time, FN)
  • Barry Smith, Florida State (AFCA [off. end], AP-2, UPI-2)
  • Jason Caldwell, North Carolina Central (NEA-2)
  • Mike Creaney, Notre Dame (AP-3 [TE])

Tight ends

  • Charle Young, USC (AFCA [off. end], AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN, Time, TSN)
  • Billy Joe DuPree, Michigan State (NEA-2)
  • Al Chandler, Oklahoma (UPI-2)
  • Gary Butler, Rice (AP-2)
  • Steve Sweeney, California (AP-3)
  • Daryl White, Nebraska (AP-3 [OT], NEA-1 [OG])

Tackles

  • Jerry Sisemore, Texas (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, TSN, Time, FN)
  • Paul Seymour, Michigan (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-2, Time, TSN)
  • John Hicks, Ohio State (AP-1, UPI-2, WC, NEA-1 [OG])
  • Pete Adams, USC (AP-2, NEA-2, UPI-1, Time)
  • John Dampeer, Notre Dame (FN)
  • Curtis Wester, East Texas State (NEA-2)
  • Bruce Walton, UCLA (AP-3)

Guards

  • John Hannah, Alabama (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN, Time, TSN)
  • Ron Rusnak, North Carolina (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1)
  • Skip Singletary, Temple (AP-2, NEA-2, UPI-2, WC)
  • Joe DeLamielleure, Michigan State (AP-2, TSN)
  • Geary Murdock, Iowa State (FN)
  • Ken Jones, Oklahoma (AP-3, UPI-2)
  • Larry Ulmer, Western Michigan (AP-3)

Centers

  • Tom Brahaney, Oklahoma (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, FWAA, TSN, Time, FN)
  • Jim Krapf, Alabama (AFCA, UPI-2)
  • Doug Dumler, Nebraska (NEA-2)
  • Orderia Mitchell, Air Force (AP-2)
  • Gerald Schultze, West Virginia (AP-3)

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Defense

Defensive ends

  • Willie Harper, Nebraska (AFCA [LB], AP-1, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN, TSN)
  • Bruce Bannon, Penn State (AFCA, AP-2, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN)
  • Wally Chambers, Eastern Kentucky (NEA-2, TSN, Time)
  • John Matuszak, Tampa (AP-3 [DT], NEA-2 [DT], TSN, Time)
  • Ernie Price, Texas A&I (NEA-2)
  • Tab Bennett, Illinois (UPI-2)
  • Danny Sanspree, Auburn (AP-2)
  • Steve Bogosian, Army (AP-3)
  • Merv Krakau, Iowa State (AP-3)

Defensive tackles

  • Greg Marx, Notre Dame (AFCA [DE], AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, WC, FN, Time, TSN)
  • Dave Butz, Purdue (UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, AFCA, TSN, Time)
  • Roger Goree, Baylor (AP-1 [DE], FWAA, UPI-2 [DE])
  • John Grant, Southern California (AP-2, FWAA)
  • Derland Moore, Oklahoma (AP-1, UPI-2)
  • John LeHeup, South Carolina (AFCA)
  • Bud Magrum, Colorado (FWAA, UPI-2 [LB])
  • George Hasenohrl, Ohio State (AP-2, UPI-2, FN)
  • Bob Leyen, Yale (NEA-2)
  • Charlie Davis, Texas Christian (AP-3)

Middle guards

Linebackers

  • Randy Gradishar, Ohio State (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, FN)
  • John Skorupan, Penn State (AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1)
  • Steve Brown, Oregon State (AP-3, NEA-1, WC, Time, TSN)
  • Jamie Rotella, Tennessee (AFCA, AP-2, UPI-1, FN)
  • Rich Wood, USC (AP-1, NEA-2 [MG], UPI-2, FN)
  • Jim Youngblood, Tennessee Tech (NEA-1, Time)
  • Tom Jackson, Louisville (AP-2, WC)
  • Warren Capone, LSU (FWAA)
  • John Mitchell, Alabama (AFCA)
  • Jackie Wallace, Arizona (NEA-2, UPI-2)
  • Matt Blair, Iowa State (NEA-2)
  • Glen Gaspard, Texas (AP-2)
  • Jim Merlo, Stanford (AP-3)
  • Eddie Sheats, Kansas (AP-3)

Defensive backs

Special teams

Kickers

Punters

  • Ray Guy, Southern Miss (FWAA, TSN, Time)

Key

  • Bold – Consensus All-American[7]
  • -1 – First-team selection
  • -2 – Second-team selection
  • -3 – Third-team selection

Official selectors

Other selectors

  • FN – Football News
  • PFW – Pro Football Weekly
  • Time – Time magazine
  • TSN – The Sporting News

See also

References

  1. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 3. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Kodak All-America Picks". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. November 24, 1972. p. 13.
  3. ^ a b "Southern Cal, Nebraska Head AP All-America". The Bee (Danville, VA). December 7, 1972. p. D1.
  4. ^ a b "Huff Gets Spot On Writers 11". Panama City News-Herald (Panama City, Florida). November 30, 1972. p. 27.
  5. ^ a b "All America Team Named". The Herald (Provo, UT). November 29, 1972. p. 8.
  6. ^ a b "UPI All-Americans". The Republic (Columbus, Indiana). December 6, 1972. p. 20.
  7. ^ a b "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 10. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Camp Honor To Rogers Once Again". The Spokesman-Review. AP. November 29, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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1972 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
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