1981 College Football All-America Team

The 1981 College Football All-America 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 1981. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1981 season.[1] They are: (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) based on the input of more than 2,000 voting members;[2] (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers;[3] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers;[4] and (4) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers.[5] Other selectors included Football News (FN),[6] Gannett News Service (GNS),[7] the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA),[8] The Sporting News (TSN),[9] and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).[10]

Nine players were unanimously selected as first-team All-Americans by all four official selectors.[1] They were:

1. Marcus Allen, running back for USC, who won the 1981 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award after becoming the first player to rush for more than 2,000 yards (2,427) in a season;
2. Anthony Carter, wider receiver for Michigan, consensus first-team All-American in both 1981 and 1982 who caught 50 passes for 952 yards during the 1981 season;
3. Sean Farrell, offensive guard who helped lead Penn State to a 10–2 record and a #3 ranking in the final AP Poll;
4. Jim McMahon, quarterback for BYU and winner of the 1981 Davey O'Brien Award and Sammy Baugh Trophy;
5. 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.
6. Kenneth Sims, defensive tackle who helped lead Texas to a 10–1–1 record and #2 ranking in the final AP Poll, and who became the #1 pick in the 1982 NFL Draft;
7. Billy Ray Smith, Jr., defensive end for Arkansas and who was a consensus first-team All-American in both 1981 and 1982;
8. 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; and
9. Tim Wrightman, tight end for UCLA who caught 28 passes for 308 yards in 1981.

Allen, Carter, McMahon, Rimington, Smith, and Walker have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

The 1981 Michigan Wolverines football team led the nation with five of its players, all on offense, receiving first-team honors from one or more of the selectors. In addition to Anthony Carter, Michigan's honorees were offensive tackles Ed Muransky and Bubba Paris, offensive guard Kurt Becker, and running back Butch Woolfolk.