1973 Little All-America college football team

1973 Little All-America college football team
Little All-America college football team
1973 NCAA Division II football season, 1973 NCAA Division III football season, 1973 NAIA Division I football season, 1973 NAIA Division II football season
1972 ← → 1974

The 1973 Little All-America college football team, also known as the Small College All-America football team, is composed of college football players from small colleges and universities who were selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the best players at each position. For 1973, the AP selected three teams, each team having separate offensive and defensive platoons.^[1]^[2]

Walter Payton, who went on to set NFL records for career rushing yards and touchdowns, was named to the second team as a running back. The first-team running backs were Billy "White Shoes" Johnson of Widener 1,496 rushing yards, 23 touchdowns), freshman Wilbert Montgomery of Abilene Christian (compiling a record 31 touchdowns in the regular season, 37 including post-season), and Mike Thomas of UNLV (1,741 rushing yards.^[2]

Kim McQuilken of Lehigh was the first-team quarterback. He completed 62.5% of his passes for 2,603 yards and 19 touchdowns.^[2]

Defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones from Tennessee State stood out on the defensive squad and was the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NFL Draft.

First team

Offense

Quarterback - Kim McQuilken (senior, 6'2", 205 pounds), Lehigh
Running back - Billy "White Shoes" Johnson (junior, 5'9", 175 pounds), Widener
Running back - Wilbert Montgomery (freshman, 5'11", 190 pounds), Abilene Christian
Running back - Mike Thomas (junior, 5'11", 188 pounds), UNLV
Wide receiver - Don Hutt (senior, 6'1", 194 pounds), Boise State
Tight end - Scott Garske (senior, 6'4", 240 pounds), Eastern Washington
Tackle - Steve Drongowski (senior, 6'0", 215 pounds), Wittenberg
Tackle - Henry Lawrence (senior, 6'4", 253 pounds), Florida A&M
Guard - Joe Kotval (senior, 6'3", 250 pounds), Buena Vista
Guard - Herbert Scott (junior, 6'3", 245 pounds), Virginia Union
Center - Mark King (junior, 6'3", 230 pounds), Troy State

Defense

Defensive end - Ed "Too Tall" Jones (senior, 6'9", 264 pounds), Tennessee State
Defensive end - Thomas Henderson (junior, 6'4", 225 pounds), Langston
Defensive tackle - Gary "Big Hands" Johnson (junior, 6'3", 261 pounds), Grambling
Defensive tackle - Bill Kollar (senior, 6'4}, 251 pounds), Montana State
Middle guard - Glenn Fleming (sophomore, 6'0", 230 pounds), Northeast Louisiana
Linebacker - Waymond Bryant (senior, 6'3", 235 pounds), Tennessee State
Linebacker - Eugene Simms (junior, 6'2", 228 pounds), Morgan State
Linebacker - Godwin Turk (senior, 6'3", 235 pounds), Southern
Defensive back - Autry Beamon (junior, 6'2", 195 pounds), East Texas
Defensive back - Leonard Fairley (senior, 6'0", 192 pounds), Alcorn A&M
Defensive back - Marty Kranz (senior, 6'2", 190 pounds), Mankato State

Second team

Offense

QB - Clint Longley, Abilene Christian
RB - Boyce Callahan, Jacksonville State
RB - Walter Payton, Jackson State
RB - Jimmy Smith, Northern Arizona
WR - Roger Carr, Louisiana Tech
TE - Bill Schlegel, Lehigh
T - Gregory Kindle, Tennessee State
T - John Passananti, Western Illinois
G - Phil Gustafson, Kearney State
G - Doug Lowrey, Arkansas State
C - Ed Paradis, Indiana (Pennsylvania)

Defense

DE - Jay Buse, Linfield
DE - Adrian Gant, Livingston
DT - Fred Dean, Louisiana Tech
DT - Levi Stanley, Hawaii
MG - Alan Klein, Southeastern Louisiana
LB - Terry Factor, Slippery Rock
LB - Greg Lee, Cal Poly
LB - Steve Nelson, North Dakota State
DB - Ralph Gebhardt, Rochester
DB - Jim Muir, Elon
DB - Mike Woodley, Northern Iowa

Third team

Offense

QB - Prinson Poindexter, Livingston
RB - Nate Anderson, Eastern Illinois
RB - Tony Giglio, Lafayette
RB - Saul Ravanell, Nebraska-Omaha
WR - John Holland, Tennessee State
TE - Bernie Peterson, Linfield
T - Dave Clapham, Nevada-Reno
T - Jim Pietrzak, Eastern Michigan
G - Coy Gibson, Wofford
G - Thomas Saxson, North Carolina Central
C - R.W. Hicks, Humboldt State

Defense

DE - Ed McAleny, UMass
DE - Lawerence Pillers, Alcorn A&M
DT - Glenn Ellis, Elon
DT - John Teerlinck, Western Illinois
MG - Sam Moser, Sioux Falls
LB - Greg Blankenship, Hayward State
LB - Joe McNeely, Louisiana Tech
LB - Charles Battle, Grambling
DB - William Bryant, Grambling
DB - Keith Krebsbach, North Dakota State
DB - Anthony Leonard, Virginia Union

References

^ "McQuilken, Johnson Little All-Americans". The News Journal. December 6, 1973. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Johnsons Pace Little All-Stars". The Daily Advertiser. December 6, 1973. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.