College football is basically a secular religion in the South and a high-stakes obsession everywhere else. We argue about rankings. We lose sleep over recruiting classes. But nothing quite sparks a barroom debate like trying to crown the best of the best. When the Associated Press decided to mark the 100th anniversary of its iconic weekly poll back in 2016, they didn't just look at the season's wins and losses. They swung for the fences. They compiled the all time AP All American team, a roster so deep it feels like a fever dream for any fan who grew up watching Saturday afternoons on ABC or CBS.
It wasn't just a random list compiled by some guy in a basement. The AP used a formula. They looked at every first-team All-American selection since the poll started in 1936. If a guy made the team multiple times, he got more points. It’s a rigid system, honestly. It favors the three-time selections over the "one-year wonders" who might have had a higher peak but less longevity. This means some of the most famous names in NFL history didn't even make the cut because they only dominated at the college level for a season or two.
The Backfield That Defies Physics
Look at the backfield. You’ve got Herschel Walker. The man was a biological outlier. At Georgia, he wasn't just a running back; he was a force of nature who looked like he was sculpted out of granite. He’s one of the few players to be a three-time First Team All-American. He shared that backfield honor with Archie Griffin, the only man to ever win two Heismans. It’s wild to think about. You have Griffin’s consistency at Ohio State paired with Walker’s pure, unadulterated power.
But then there’s the quarterback spot. People always expect a modern name. They want Mahomes or Burrow or maybe even Tebow. Nope. The formula pointed toward John Lujack from Notre Dame. Lujack won three national titles and a Heisman. He played in an era where you played both ways, which is something we’ve almost entirely lost in the modern game. If you're looking for Heisman-heavy rosters, this is it. But it also highlights how much the game has changed. Today’s spread offenses put up numbers that make the 1940s look like a different sport entirely.
The Trenches: Where the Real Greatness Lives
We usually ignore the offensive line until someone misses a block. The all time AP All American team doesn't have that luxury. These guys were immovable. Orlando Pace is the name that jumps out. He basically invented the "pancake block" as a statistical category at Ohio State. Think about that. He was so dominant that his coaches needed a new way to track how often he flattened defenders.
He’s joined by Dave Rimington. If you know college football, you know the Rimington Trophy goes to the best center in the country every year. Why? Because Dave Rimington was the gold standard at Nebraska. He’s the only player to win the Outland Trophy twice. That doesn't happen. It shouldn't happen. But it did.
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Then you have Bill Fralic from Pitt and John Hannah from Alabama. Bear Bryant once called Hannah the greatest lineman he ever coached. That’s high praise considering the Bear coached about a thousand NFL players. These guys didn't have the benefit of modern nutrition or sports science, yet they were essentially human walls.
Why Defense Still Wins These Arguments
Defense is where the list gets truly scary. You cannot talk about this team without mentioning Dick Butkus. He is the personification of "old school" grit. At Illinois, he was a linebacker who played with a level of violence that would probably get him ejected from every game today. He was a two-time All-American, and honestly, the list would be invalid without him.
But then you have the edge rushers. Hugh Green from Pitt was a three-time selection. People forget how good those Pitt teams were in the late 70s and early 80s. Green was so dominant he finished second in the Heisman voting as a defensive end. That’s almost impossible.
The secondary is a "Who's Who" of ball hawks.
- Deion Sanders (Florida State): "Prime Time" himself. He didn't just cover receivers; he erased them from the box score.
- Jack Tatum (Ohio State): They called him "The Assassin." For good reason.
- Charles Woodson (Michigan): The last defensive player to win the Heisman. He’s the peak of versatility.
The Methodology Problem: Who Got Left Out?
Here is where things get spicy. Because the AP used a points-based system—15 points for a first-team selection, 8 for a second, 4 for a third—players who stayed for four years and stayed healthy had a massive advantage.
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This means Bo Jackson isn't on the first team. Let that sink in. Arguably the greatest pure athlete to ever touch a football, and he’s relegated to the second or third tier because of the math. Same goes for Barry Sanders. Barry’s 1988 season at Oklahoma State is widely considered the greatest individual season in the history of the sport. He rushed for 2,628 yards in 11 games. But because he wasn't a multi-year AP darling before that explosion, the "All Time" status is harder to clinch.
It’s a reminder that "Greatest" and "Most Decorated" aren't always the same thing. The AP team celebrates the guys who dominated the college landscape for three or four years straight. It rewards the programs that kept stars on campus back before the NFL Draft became a siren song for every talented sophomore.
Special Teams and the Specialists
Don't sleep on the specialists. Shane Lechler is the punter. He was a weapon at Texas A&M. He could flip the field like nobody else, which is a lost art in the era of high-flying offenses. For the kicker, they went with Mason Crosby from Colorado. It’s funny because we think of Crosby as a Green Bay Packers legend, but his leg was legendary in the thin air of Boulder long before he went pro.
And then there's the "all-purpose" player. They picked Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers from Nebraska. If you've ever seen the highlights of his 1971 return against Oklahoma, you know why. He was electric. He was the kind of player who made you hold your breath every time the ball was in the air.
The Impact of the 2016 Centennial Celebration
When this list was released to celebrate the 100th year of the AP Poll, it sparked a massive wave of nostalgia. It forced younger fans to look up guys like Bronko Nagurski or Red Grange. It reminded us that while the SEC might feel like the center of the universe now, there was a time when the Ivy League and the Big Ten were the absolute powerhouses.
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The list features:
- Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State): Proving you don't need a Power 5 school to be the GOAT.
- Lawrence Taylor (UNC): The man who changed how the linebacker position is played.
- Tony Dorsett (Pitt): A runner who was so smooth he looked like he was gliding.
It’s a snapshot of history. It’s a museum in text form.
How to Use This Data for Your Own Debates
If you're going to use the all time AP All American team to settle an argument, you have to understand the context. You can't just say "Lujack is better than Vince Young" because the AP says so. You have to acknowledge the era.
If you want to dive deeper into these stats, your next steps are pretty clear. Start by looking at the "Consensus All-American" lists on sites like Sports Reference. This shows you who was picked by the AP, the FWAA, and the Sporting News simultaneously. Then, go find the film. Most of these guys have highlight reels on YouTube that look like they were filmed through a screen door, but the talent is undeniable. Watch Herschel Walker run through a defensive line in 1980. It looks exactly like a modern NFL back playing against high schoolers.
The real value of this list isn't just the names. It's the standard. It shows what it takes to be considered a legend over a century of play. Whether you agree with the formula or not, these 25 or so men represent the absolute ceiling of what a college football player can achieve.
Your Strategy for Researching All-Time Greats
- Check the "Multi-Time" Winners: Search for players who made the AP First Team three times. There are fewer than 30 of them in history.
- Analyze the Heisman Gap: Look for players who won the Heisman but weren't AP All-Americans (it’s rare, but it happens).
- Look at Conference Dominance: Notice how many of these players come from the Big Ten and the Big 12 (formerly Big 8). It tells the story of where the talent was concentrated for decades.
This isn't just about a team. It's about the evolution of the American athlete. From the 200-pound linemen of the 40s to the 320-pound monsters of the 90s, the AP All-American team tracks the growth of the sport itself. Go look up the 1980s Pitt rosters or the 1970s Nebraska teams. You'll find a density of talent that we rarely see in the parity-driven world of modern college football.