Staubach tops Tebow, Nebraska leads on 75th anniversary all-America teams
The Nebraska Cornhuskers lead the way on the Football Writers Association of America's 75th anniversary team, announced Thursday, placing six players overall on the three teams and four on the first team.
Cornhuskers represented on the first team were offensive linemen Will Shields and Dave Rimington, defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and specialist Johnny Rodgers.
And in the most key position: Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach of Navy edges out Heisman winner Tim Tebow of Florida as the first-team quarterback. The third-team QB is another Cornhusker, Tommie Frazier.
The Big Ten led the conference tally with 19 players selected, followed by the ACC (15), the SEC (13), the Big 12 (10) and the Pac-12 (7).
The FWAA, which was founded in 1941, has picked an annual All-America team since the 1944 season, making it the second-longest continuously selected team in major college football.
The first team in 1944 included Army’s running back tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech’s Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas’ legendary head football coach. The 2014 team featured Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota of Oregon, Outland Trophy winner, offensive tackle Brandon Scherff of Iowa, and Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, linebacker Scooby Wright III of Arizona.
“This was one of the most fun, yet most difficult exercises I’ve had in life — next to parallel parking, that is,” said FWAA 75th All-America Committee chairman Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman. “Truly, it was an exciting — if not impossible — task to find the best 75 college football players ever. Please save your hate mail, but feel free to weigh in and tell us how we messed up. And I’m sure we did, but no one should argue that it wasn’t a great idea to honor the best who have ever played the game. Let the debating begin.”
FWAA 75TH ANNIVERSARY ALL-AMERICA TEAM
FIRST TEAM SECOND TEAM THIRD TEAM
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Roger Staubach, Navy
RB Archie Griffin, Ohio State
RB Herschel Walker, Georgia
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh
WR Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State
TE Keith Jackson, Oklahoma
OL John Hannah, Alabama
OL Orlando Pace, Ohio State
OL Will Shields, Nebraska
OL Ron Yary, USC
C Dave Rimington, Nebraska
DEFENSE
DT Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma
DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DE Leon Hart, Notre Dame
DE Ted Hendricks, Miami (Fla.)
LB Tommy Nobis, Texas
LB Mike Singletary, Baylor
LB Derrick Thomas, Alabama
DB Ronnie Lott, USC
DB Deion Sanders, Florida State
DB Jack Tatum, Ohio State
DB Charles Woodson, Michigan
SPECIALISTS
P Ray Guy, Southern Miss
K Kevin Butler, Georgia
RS Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Tim Tebow, Florida
RB Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh
RB Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
WR Fred Biletnikoff, Florida State
WR Randy Moss, Marshall
TE Mike Ditka, Pittsburgh
OL Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh
OL John Hicks, Ohio State
OL Calvin Jones, Iowa
OL Jonathan Ogden, UCLA
C Chuck Bednarik, Penn
DEFENSE
DT Merlin Olsen, Utah State
DT Randy White, Maryland
DE Hugh Green, Pittsburgh
DE Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech
LB Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma
LB Dick Butkus, Illinois
LB Luke Kuechly, Boston College
DB Champ Bailey, Georgia
DB Kenny Easley, UCLA
DB Jerry Gray, Texas
DB Ed Reed, Miami (Fla.)
SPECIALISTS
P Russell Erxleben, Texas
K Mason Crosby, Colorado
RS Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
QB Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
RB Bo Jackson, Auburn
RB Doak Walker, SMU
WR Anthony Carter, Michigan
WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech
TE Gordon Hudson, BYU
OL Barrett Jones, Alabama
OL Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech
OL Jerry Sisemore, Texas
OL Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska
C Jim Ritcher, N.C. State
DEFENSE
DT Steve Emtman, Washington
DT Reggie White, Tennessee
DE Bubba Smith, Michigan State
DE Jack Youngblood, Florida
LB Jack Ham, Penn State
LB Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama
LB Chris Spielman, Ohio State
DB Dré Bly, North Carolina
DB Dave Brown, Michigan
DB Troy Polamalu, USC
DB Roy Williams, Oklahoma
SPECIALISTS
P Rohn Stark, Florida State
K Tony Franklin, Texas A&M
RS Derek Abney, Kentucky
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