1972 All-America college football team
The 1972 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 1972. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1972 season. They are: the American Football Coaches Association which selected its team for Kodak based on a vote of the nation's coaches; the Associated Press selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers; the Football Writers Association of America selected by the nation's football writers; the Newspaper Enterprise Association selected based on the votes of sports writers at NEA newspapers; the United Press International selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers; and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Eight players are recognized by the NCAA as unanimous All-America selections. They are: wide receiver and 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers of [1972 1972 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska Cornhuskers football team|Nebraska]; tight end Charles Young of [1972 1972 USC Trojans football team|USC Trojans football team|USC]; offensive tackle Jerry Sisemore of [1972 1972 Texas Longhorns football team|Texas Longhorns football team|Texas]; offensive guard John Hannah of [1972 1972 Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama Crimson Tide football team|Alabama]; running back Greg Pruitt of [1972 1972 Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma Sooners football team|Oklahoma]; defensive tackle Greg Marx of [1972 1972 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|Notre Dame]; middle guard Rich Glover of Nebraska; and defensive back Brad Van Pelt of [1972 1972 Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State Spartans football team|Michigan State].
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 | [1972 1972 Michigan Wolverines football team|Michigan State Spartans football team|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 | [1972 1972 Purdue Boilermakers football team|Purdue Boilermakers football team|Purdue] | 4/2/6 | AFCA, NEA, UPI, WC | Time, TSN |
| Bert Jones | Quarterback | [1972 1972 LSU Tigers football team|LSU Tigers football team|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 | [1972 1972 Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State Nittany Lions football team|Penn State] | 4/1/5 | AFCA, NEA, UPI, WC | FN |
| Randy Gradishar | Linebacker | [1972 1972 Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State Buckeyes football team|Ohio State] | 4/1/5 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI | FN |
| Cullen Bryant | Defensive back | [1972 1972 Colorado Buffaloes football team|Colorado Buffaloes football team|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 | [1972 1972 North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina Tar Heels football team|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 | [1972 1972 Arizona State Sun Devils football team|Arizona State Sun Devils football team|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- Steve Holden, Arizona State
- Barry Smith, Florida State
- Jason Caldwell, North Carolina Central
- Mike Creaney, Notre Dame
Tight ends
Charle Young, USC- Billy Joe DuPree, Michigan State
- Al Chandler, Oklahoma
- Gary Butler, Rice
- Steve Sweeney, California
- Daryl White, Nebraska
Tackles
Jerry Sisemore, Texas Paul Seymour, Michigan- John Hicks, Ohio State
- Pete Adams, USC
- John Dampeer, Notre Dame
- Curtis Wester, East Texas State
- Bruce Walton, UCLA
Guards
John Hannah, Alabama Ron Rusnak, North Carolina- Skip Singletary, Temple
- Joe DeLamielleure, Michigan State
- Geary Murdock, Iowa State
- Ken Jones, Oklahoma
- Larry Ulmer, Western Michigan
Centers
Tom Brahaney, Oklahoma- Jim Krapf, Alabama
- Doug Dumler, Nebraska
- Orderia Mitchell, Air Force
- Gerald Schultze, West Virginia
Quarterbacks
Bert Jones, LSU- John Hufnagel, Penn State
- Gary Huff, Florida State
- Tony Adams, Utah State
- Don Strock, Virginia Tech
Running backs
Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma Otis Armstrong, Purdue Woody Green, Arizona State- Dick Jauron, Yale
- Sam Cunningham, USC
- George Amundson, Iowa State
- Howard Stevens, Louisville
- Roosevelt Leaks, Texas
- Charlie Davis, Colorado
- Anthony Davis, USC
- Bob Hitchens, Miami
- Steve Jones, Duke
- Pete Van Valkenburg, BYU
Defense
Defensive ends
Willie Harper, Nebraska Bruce Bannon, Penn State- Wally Chambers, Eastern Kentucky
- John Matuszak, Tampa
- Ernie Price, Texas A&I
- Tab Bennett, Illinois
- Danny Sanspree, Auburn
- Steve Bogosian, Army
- Merv Krakau, Iowa State
Defensive tackles
Greg Marx, Notre Dame Dave Butz, Purdue- Roger Goree, Baylor
- John Grant, Southern California
- Derland Moore, Oklahoma
- John LeHeup, South Carolina
- Bud Magrum, Colorado
- George Hasenohrl, Ohio State
- Bob Leyen, Yale
- Charlie Davis, Texas Christian
Middle guards
Rich Glover, Nebraska- Don Rives, Texas Tech
- Lucious Selmon, Oklahoma
- Tony Cristiani, Miami
Linebackers
Randy Gradishar, Ohio State John Skorupan, Penn State- Steve Brown, Oregon State
- Jamie Rotella, Tennessee
- Rich Wood, USC
- Jim Youngblood, Tennessee Tech
- Tom Jackson, Louisville
- Warren Capone, LSU
- John Mitchell, Alabama
- Jackie Wallace, Arizona
- Matt Blair, Iowa State
- Glen Gaspard, Texas
- Jim Merlo, Stanford
- Eddie Sheats, Kansas
Defensive backs
Brad Van Pelt, Michigan State Cullen Bryant, Colorado Randy Logan, Michigan Robert Popelka, Southern Methodist- Burgess Owens, Miami
- Jackie Wallace, Arizona
- Conrad Graham, Tennessee
- Randy Rhino, Georgia Tech
- Calvin Jones, Washington
- Drane Scrivener, Tulsa
- Ray Guy, Southern Miss
- Frank Dowsing, Mississippi State
- Joe Blahak, Nebraska
- J. T. Thomas, Florida State
- John Provost, Holy Cross
Special teams
Kickers
- Ricky Townsend, Tennessee
- Chris Gartner, Indiana
Punters
- Ray Guy, Southern Miss
Key
Bold – Consensus All-American- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
Official selectors
- AFCA – American Football Coaches Association for Kodak
- AP – Associated Press
- FWAA – Football Writers Association of America
- NEA – Newspaper Enterprise Association
- UPI – United Press International
- WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation
Other selectors
- FN – Football News
- PFW – Pro Football Weekly
- Time – Time magazine
- TSN – ''The Sporting News''