1978 All-America college football team

The 1978 All-America college football 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 1978. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1978 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), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).

Offense

Receivers

• Emanuel Tolbert , SMU (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2, WC)
• Kirk Gibson, Michigan State (AP-2, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
• Gordon Jones, Pittsburgh (AFCA [split end], AP-2, NEA-1 [flanker])
• Jerry Butler, Clemson (AP-1, NEA-2 [flanker], TSN)
• Junior Miller, Nebraska (AP-3)
• Dave Petzke, Northern Illinois (AP-3)

Tight ends

• Kellen Winslow , Missouri (AFCA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Mark Brammer, Michigan State (FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2)

Tackles

• Keith Dorney , Penn St. (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Kelvin Clark , Nebraska (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-2, WC)
• Jeff Toews, Washington (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-1, TSN)
• Matt Miller, Colorado (UPI-1)
• Robert Dugas, LSU (AP-2, NEA-2)
• Anthony Muñoz, USC (UPI-2)
• Greg Kolenda, Arkansas (AP-3)
• Craig Wolfley, Syracuse (AP-3)

Guards

• Pat Howell , USC (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Greg Roberts , Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Joe Bostic, Clemson (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-2)
• Pete Inge, San Diego State (AP-2)
• Steve Lindquist, Nebraska (AP-3, UPI-2)
• Brad Budde, USC (NEA-2)
• Doug Panfil, Tulsa (AP-3)

Centers

• Dave Huffman , Notre Dame (AP-2, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Jim Ritcher , North Carolina St. (AFCA, AP-1)
• Dwight Stephenson, Alabama (UPI-2)
• Robert Shaw, Tennessee (NEA-2)
• Chuck Brown, Houston (AP-3)

Quarterbacks

• Chuck Fusina , Penn St. (AFCA-t, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
• Rick Leach, Michigan (AFCA-t, AP-2, UPI-2)
• Jack Thompson, Washington State (TSN)
• Steve Dils, Stanford (NEA-2)
• Steve Fuller, Clemson (AP-3)

Running backs

• Billy Sims , Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Charles Alexander , LSU (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Charles White , USC (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
• Ted Brown , North Carolina State (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-2)
• Eddie Lee Ivery, Georgia Tech (AP-2, UPI-2)
• Darrin Nelson, Stanford (AP-2)
• Willie McClendon, Georgia (UPI-2)
• Obie Graves, Cal State Fullerton (AP-3)
• James Hadnot, Texas Tech (AP-3)
• Joseph H. Holland, Cornell (AP-3)

Defense

Defensive ends

• Al Harris , Arizona St. (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, AFCA, FWAA, TSN)
• Hugh Green , Pittsburgh (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
• Don Smith, Miami (Fla.) (AFCA, NEA-2, TSN)
• George Andrews, Nebraska (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-1)
• Don Blackmon, Tulsa (AP-2)
• Willie Jones, Florida State (UPI-2)
• John Adams, LSU (AP-3)
• Chuck Schott, Army (AP-3)

Defensive tackles

• Mike Bell , Colorado St. (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Bruce Clark , Penn St. (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2)
• Marty Lyons , Alabama (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-1, TSN)
• Matt Millen, Penn State (UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
• Dan Hampton, Arkansas (AFCA)
• Jimmy Walker, Arkansas (AP-3, FWAA)
• Mike Stensrud, Iowa State (AP-2)
• Ken Kremer, Ball State (AP-3)

Middle guards

• Reggie Kinlaw, Oklahoma (AP-2, UPI-1, WC)
• Manu Tuiasosopo, UCLA (UPI-2)
• Ardis McCann, Louisiana Tech (AP-3)

Linebackers

• Jerry Robinson , UCLA (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, TSN)
• Tom Cousineau , Ohio State (AP-1, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC, AFCA, TSN)
• Bob Golic , Notre Dame (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-2, WC)
• Ken Fantetti, Wyoming (AP-3, FWAA)
• Barry Krauss, Alabama (AP-2, UPI-2, TSN)
• George Cumby, Oklahima (NEA-1)
• John Corker, Ohlahoma State (AP-1)
• Daryl Hunt, Oklahoma (AP-2, UPI-2)
• Michael Jackson, Washington (AP-2, UPI-2, NEA-2)
• Joe Norman, Indiana (NEA-2)
• Jack Lazor, Kent State (AP-3)
• Frank Manumaleuga, San Jose State (AP-3)

Defensive backs

• Johnnie Johnson , Texas (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, WC)
• Kenny Easley , UCLA (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN, WC)
• Jeff Nixon , Richmond (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-1, WC)
• Lawrence Johnson, Wisconsin (NEA-1, TSN)
• Henry Williams, San Diego St. (AFCA, UPI-2)
• Rick Sanford, South Carolina (TSN)
• Pete Harris, Penn State (AP-2, UPI-1, NEA-2)
• Don Bessillieu, Georgia Tech (TSN)
• Jeff Delaney, Pittsburgh (AP-2, UPI-2)
• Lovie Smith, Tulsa (AP-2)
• Russ Calabrese, Missouri (NEA-2)
• Tim Smith, Oregon State (NEA-2)
• Vaughn Lusby, Arkansas (NEA-2)
• Jason Coloma, Brigham Young (AP-3)
• Nesby Glasgow, Washington (AP-3)
• Joe Restic, Notre Dame (AP-3)

Special teams

Kickers

• Matt Bahr, Penn State (UPI-1, NEA-1, TSN)
• Tony Franklin, Texas A&M (FWAA, UPI-2, NEA-2)

Punters

• Russell Erxleben, Texas (NEA-1, WC, FWAA, TSN)
• Joe Restic, Notre Dame (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, selected by 2,100 voting members for Kodak ^[2]
• AP – Associated Press ^[3]
• FWAA – Football Writers Association of America ^[4]
• 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 ]}

See also

• 1978 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team
• 1978 All-Big Eight Conference football team
• 1978 All-Big Ten Conference football team
• 1978 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team
• 1978 All-SEC football team
• 1978 All-Southwest Conference football team

References

1. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. pp. 3, 12. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
2. "Kodak All-America has two quarterbacks". The Salina Journal. December 4, 1978. p. 15.
3. "Bruins, Troy share wealth in AP All-America squad". The San Bernardino County Sun. December 6, 1978. p. D2.
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.
5. "UPI All-America Team". The Salina Journal. December 5, 1978. p. 13.
6. "Penn State's Fusina tops NEA All-America". The Paris News. December 6, 1978. p. 7B.
7. "All-American Honors Pile Up For Hurricane Named Smith". The Miami Herald. December 5, 1978. p. 2D. Retrieved February 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.