1985 All-America college football team
The 1985 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 1985. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recognizes five selectors as "official" for the 1985 season. They are: the American Football Coaches Association ; the Associated Press selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers; the Football Writers Association of America ; the United Press International selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers; and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Other selectors included Football News, Gannett News Service, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, Pro Football Weekly, Scripps Howard, and The Sporting News.
Ten players were unanimously selected as first-team All-Americans by all five official selectors. They are:
- Bo Jackson, Auburn running back who rushed for 1,786 yards and won the 1985 Heisman Trophy;
- Chuck Long, Iowa quarterback who won the 1985 Davey O'Brien Award and Maxwell Award and placed second in the 1985 Heisman Trophy voting;
- Lorenzo White, Michigan State running back who became the first Big Ten Conference player to rush for over 2,000 yards and placed fourth in the 1985 Heisman Trophy voting;
- Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma linebacker who won the 1985 Dick Butkus Award;
- David Williams, Illinois wide receiver who caught 85 passes for 1,047 yards and finished his college career as the second leading receiver in NCAA history;
- Larry Station, Iowa linebacker who led the team in tackles for the fourth straight season with 129;
- John Lee, UCLA placekicker who set the NCAA record for highest percentage of extra points and field goals made in a career with 93.3% ;
- Jim Dombrowski, Virginia offensive tackle;
- Leslie O'Neal, Oklahoma defensive end; and
- Tim Green, Syracuse defensive end.
Consensus All-Americans
The following charts identify the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1985 and displays which first-team designations they received.Offense
Quarterbacks
Chuck Long, Iowa- Vinny Testaverde, Miami
- Jim Everett, Purdue
Running backs
Bo Jackson, Auburn Lorenzo White, Michigan State Napoleon McCallum, Navy Reggie Dupard, SMU Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State- Doug DuBose, Nebraska
- Paul Palmer, Temple
- Tom Rathman, Nebraska
- Ronnie Harmon, Iowa
Wide receivers
David Williams, Illinois Tim McGee, Tennessee- Lew Barnes, Oregon
- Kelvin Martin, Boston College
- Webster Slaughter, San Diego State
- Mark Bellini, BYU
- Walter Murray, Hawaii
- Richard Estell, Kansas
- Reggie Bynum, Oregon State
- Michael Irvin, Miami
Tight ends
Willie Smith, Miami- Brian Forster, Rhode Island
- Keith Jackson, Oklahoma
- Eric Kattus, Michigan
- William Harris, Texas
Centers
Peter Anderson, Georgia- Gene Chilton, Texas
- Bill Lewis, Nebraska
Guards
Jeff Bregel, USC John Rienstra, Temple J. D. Maarleveld, Maryland Jamie Dukes, Florida State- Jeff Zimmerman, Florida
- Tim Scannell, Notre Dame
- Todd Moules, Penn State
Tackles
Jim Dombrowski, Virginia Brian Jozwiak, West Virginia- John Davis, Georgia Tech
- Don Smith, Army
- James FitzPatrick, USC
- Joe Milinichik, North Carolina State
- John Clay, Missouri
- Doug Williams, Texas A&M
- Mark Cochran, Baylor
- Steve Wallace, Auburn
- Will Wolford, Vanderbilt
Defense
Defensive ends
Leslie O'Neal, Oklahoma State Tim Green, Syracuse- Pat Swilling, Georgia Tech
- Jim Skow, Nebraska
Defensive tackles
Tony Casillas, Oklahoma Mike Hammerstein, Michigan- Jon Hand, Alabama
- Jerome Brown, Miami
- Mark Walen, UCLA
- Jason Buck, BYU
- Tim Johnson, Penn State
- Mark Messner, Michigan
Middle guards
Mike Ruth, Boston College- Jerry Ball, SMU
Linebackers
Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma Larry Station, Iowa Johnny Holland, Texas A&M- Cornelius Bennett, Alabama
- Pepper Johnson, Ohio State
- Michael Brooks, LSU
- Kevin Murphy, Oklahoma
- Alonzo Johnson, Florida
- Shane Conlan, Penn State
- Chris Spielman, Ohio State
- Mike Mallory, Michigan
- John Offerdahl, Western Michigan
Defensive backs
David Fulcher, Arizona State Brad Cochran, Michigan Scott Thomas, Air Force- Allen Durden, Arizona
- Thomas Everett, Baylor
- Mark Moore, Oklahoma State
- Tim McDonald, USC
- Mark Collins, Cal-State Fullerton
- Michael Zordich, Penn State
- Rod Woodson, Purdue
- Chris White, Tennessee
- Phil Parker, Michigan State
- Vestee Jackson, Washington
- Greg Lasker, Arkansas
Special teams
Placekickers
John Lee, UCLA- John Diettrich, Ball State
- Carlos Reveiz, Tennessee
- Chris White, Illinois
Punters
Barry Helton, Colorado- Lewis Colbert, Auburn
- Bill Smith, Mississippi
- Ray Criswell, Florida
- Mark Simon, Air Force
- Steve Kidd, Rice
Returners
- Erroll Tucker, Utah
Key
Bold – Consensus All-American- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
- CFHOF = College Football Hall of Fame inductee
Official selectors
- AFCA – American Football Coaches Association, selected by the members of the AFCA for the Kodak All-America team
- AP – Associated Press
- FWAA – Football Writers Association of America
- UPI – United Press International
- WC – Walter Camp Football Foundation
Other selectors
- FN – Football News
- GNS – Gannett News Service selected by Joel S. Buchsbaum
- NEA – Newspaper Enterprise Association
- PFW – Pro Football Weekly
- SH – Scripps Howard
- TSN – ''The Sporting News''