1982 All-America college football team


The 1982 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 1982. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1982 season. They are: the American Football Coaches Association based on the input of more than 2,000 voting members; 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; and the United Press International. Other selectors included Football News, the Gannett News Service, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, The Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
Thirteen players were unanimously selected as first-team All-Americans by all four official selectors. They were:
  1. Jim Arnold, punter for Vanderbilt
  2. Anthony Carter, wide receiver for Michigan, consensus first-team All-American in both 1981 and 1982 and the 1982 winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten Conference
  3. Eric Dickerson, running back for SMU who rushed for 1,617 yards in 1982
  4. John Elway, quarterback for Stanford, the 1982 recipient of the Sammy Baugh Trophy
  5. Gordon Hudson, tight end for BYU
  6. Terry Kinard, defensive back for Clemson, a consensus All-American in both 1981 and 1982 and the CBS National Defensive Player of the Year in 1982
  7. Steve Korte, offensive lineman for Arkansas
  8. Don Mosebar, offensive lineman for USC
  9. Chuck Nelson, placekicker for Washington
  10. Dave Rimington, center for Nebraska, two-time winner of the Outland Trophy and the namesake of the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's top collegiate center
  11. Herschel Walker, running back for Georgia, a three-time consensus first-team All-American who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1981 and won the award in 1982
  12. Billy Ray Smith Jr., defensive end for Arkansas and who was a consensus first-team All-American in both 1981 and 1982
  13. Darryl Talley, linebacker for West Virginia

Consensus All-Americans

The following charts identify the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1982 and displays which first-team designations they received.

Offense

Receivers

Anthony Carter, Michigan

Tight ends

Gordon Hudson, BYU

Tackles

Don Mosebar, Southern California Jimbo Covert, Pittsburgh

Guards

Steve Korte, Arkansas Bruce Matthews, USC

Centers

Dave Rimington, Nebraska

Quarterbacks

John Elway, Stanford

Running backs

Herschel Walker, Georgia Eric Dickerson, SMU Mike Rozier, Nebraska

Defense

Defensive ends

Billy Ray Smith Jr., Arkansas Vernon Maxwell, Arizona State

Defensive tackles

Mike Pitts, Alabama Rick Bryan, Oklahoma Gabriel Rivera, Texas Tech

Middle guards

George Achica, USC

Linebackers

Darryl Talley, West Virginia Marcus Marek, Ohio State Ricky Hunley, Arizona Wilber Marshall, Florida

Defensive backs

Terry Kinard, Clemson Terry Hoage, Georgia Mike Richardson, Arizona State

Special teams

Kickers

Chuck Nelson, Washington

Punters

Jim Arnold, Vanderbilt

Returners

Key

Bold – Consensus All-American

Official selectors

Other selectors