1986 All-America college football team
The 1986 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 1986. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recognizes five selectors as "official" for the 1986 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 notable selectors included Football News, Gannett News Service, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, Scripps Howard, and The Sporting News.
Consensus All-Americans
The following charts identify the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1986 and displays which first-team designations they received.Full selections - offense
Quarterbacks
Vinny Testaverde, Miami- Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
- Kevin Murray, Texas A&M
- Kevin Sweeney, Fresno State
- Jamelle Holieway, Oklahoma
- Chris Miller, Oregon
Running backs
Brent Fullwood, Auburn Paul Palmer, Temple Terrence Flagler, Clemson Brad Muster, Stanford D. J. Dozier, Penn State- Steve Bartalo, Colorado St.
- Bobby Humphrey, Alabama
- Reggie Taylor, Cincinnati
- Gaston Green, UCLA
- Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma State
- Troy Stradford, Boston College
Wide receivers
Cris Carter, Ohio State- Tim Brown, Notre Dame
- Wendell Davis, LSU
- Michael Irvin, Miami
- Sterling Sharpe, South Carolina
- Ron Morris, SMU
- Haywood Jeffires, North Carolina State
- Marc Zeno, Tulane
- J. R. Ambrose, Ole Miss
- Naz Worthen, North Carolina State
Tight ends
Keith Jackson, Oklahoma- Rod Bernstine, Texas A&M
- Rob Awalt, San Diego St.
- Jim Riggs, Clemson
Centers
Ben Tamburello, Auburn- Gregg Rakoczy, Miami
- John Davis, Georgia Tech
- Joe Tofflemire, Arizona
- Eric Coyle, Colorado
- Bob Maggs, Ohio State
Offensive guards
Jeff Bregel, USC- Jeff Zimmerman, Florida
- Paul Kiser, Wake Forest
- Chris Conlin, Penn State
- Mark Hutson, Oklahoma
- Randall McDaniel, Arizona State
- John Phillips, Clemson
- Steve Trapilo, Boston College
- Anthony Phillips, Oklahoma
- Fred Childress, Arkansas
- Harry Galbreath, Tennessee
- Bruce Blackmar, Texas
- Doug Aronson, San Diego St.
- Todd Peat, Northern Illinois
- Eric Andolsek, LSU
- Mark Stepnoski, Pittsburgh
Offensive tackles
John Clay, Missouri Randy Dixon, Pittsburgh Danny Villa, Arizona State- Harris Barton, North Carolina
- Jumbo Elliot, Michigan
- Dave Croston, Iowa
- Wilbur Strozier, Georgia
- Tom Welter, Nebraska
- Bruce Wilkerson, Tennessee
Full selections - defense
Defensive ends
Jason Buck, BYU Reggie Rogers, Washington Tony Woods, Pittsburgh- Danny Stubbs, Miami
- Scott Stephen, Arizona State
- Darrell Reed, Oklahoma
Defensive tackles
Jerome Brown, Miami Danny Noonan, Nebraska- Tim Johnson, Penn State
- Al Noga, Hawaii
- Jerry Ball, SMU
- Shawn Knight, BYU
- Tony Cherico, Arkansas
- Wally Kleine, Notre Dame
- Curt Jarvis, Alabama
- John Bosa, Boston College
- Henry Thomas, LSU
- Mark Messner, Michigan
- Dick Chapura, Missouri
- Tracy Rocker, Auburn
- Gerald Nichols, Florida State
Linebackers
Cornelius Bennett, Alabama Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma Shane Conlan, Penn State Chris Spielman, Ohio State- Terry Maki, Air Force
- Dave Wyman, Stanford
- Johnny Holland, Texas A&M
- Marcus Cotton, USC
- Byron Evans, Arizona
- Mike Junkin, Duke
- Ken Norton Jr., UCLA
- Van Waiters, Indiana
- Cedric Figaro, Notre Dame
- Shane Bullough, Michigan State
- Brad Hastings, Texas Tech
- Tyronne Stowe, Rutgers
- Bill Romanowski, Boston College
- David Brandon, Memphis State
- Paul McGowan, Florida State
Defensive backs
Thomas Everett, Baylor Tim McDonald, USC Rod Woodson, Purdue Bennie Blades, Miami Garland Rivers, Michigan- Gordon Lockbaum, Holy Cross
- John Little, Georgia
- Mark Moore, Oklahoma State
- Deion Sanders, Florida State
- Tim Peoples, Washington
- Jarvis Williams, Florida
- Ray Isom, Penn State
- David Vickers, Oklahoma
- Tom Rotello, Air Force
- Ron Francis, Baylor
- Adrian White, Florida
- Roland Mitchell, Texas Tech
- Lou Brock Jr., USC
- Toi Cook, Stanford
- Harold McGuire, Toledo
- Freddie Robinson, Alabama
- Chuck Cecil, Arizona
- Sonny Gordon, Ohio State
- Stephen Braggs, Texas
Full selections - special teams
Kickers
Jeff Jaeger, Washington- Jeff Ward, Texas
- Marty Zendejas, Nevada-Reno
- Van Tiffin, Alabama
- Chris Kinzer, Virginia Tech
- John Diettrich, Ball State
Punters
Barry Helton, Colorado- Greg Montgomery, Michigan State
- Bill Smith, Mississippi
- Greg Horne, Arkansas
- Mark Simon, Air Force
Returners
- Rod Woodson, Purdue
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, selected by the nation's college coaches and sports information directors
Other selectors
- FN – Football News
- GNS – Gannett News Service
- NEA – Newspaper Enterprise Association, the NEA/World Almanac team
- TSN – The Sporting News
- SH – Scripps Howard