The 1988 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 1988. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recognizes five selectors as "official" for the 1988 season. They are: (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers; (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA); (4) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers; and (5) the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC). Other notable selectors included Football News (FN), the Gannett News Service (GNS), the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), Scripps Howard (SH), and The Sporting News (TSN).
Consensus All-Americans The following charts identify the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans for the year 1988 and displays which first-team designations they received.
Offense Name Position School NumberThis column lists the number of selectors choosing the player as a first-team All-American as follows: official selectors/other selectors/total selectors. Official OtherBarry SandersRunning backOklahoma State 5/4/9AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, SH, TSNTony MandarichOffensive tackleMichigan State5/3/8AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, SH, TSNAnthony PhillipsOffensive guardOklahoma5/1/6AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCNEAJason PhillipsWide receiverHouston4/1/5AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPISHMike UtleyOffensive guardWashington State4/1/5AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPISHHart Lee DykesWide receiverOklahoma State3/3/6AP, UPI, WCNEA, SH, TSNMark StepnoskiOffensive guardPittsburgh3/3/6AFCA, FWAA, WCGNS, SH, TSNAnthony ThompsonRunning backIndiana3/2/5FWAA, UPI, WCNEA, TSNTim WorleyRunning backGeorgia3/2/5AFCA, FWAA, WCGNS, SHTroy AikmanQuarterbackUCLA2/2/4UPI, WCGNS, TSNSteve WalshQuarterbackMiami2/1/3AP, FWAAGNSMarv CookTight endIowa2/1/3AFCA, UPIGNSJake YoungCenterNebraska2/0/2AP, FWAAJohn VitaleCenterMichigan2/0/2UPI, WC
Defense Name Position School Number Official OtherMark MessnerDefensive tackleMichigan5/4/9AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, SH, TSNBroderick ThomasLinebackerNebraska5/4/9AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, SH, TSNDerrick ThomasLinebackerAlabama5/4/9AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, SH, TSNDeion SandersDefensive backFlorida State5/4/9AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, SH, TSNTracy RockerDefensive tackleAuburn5/3/8AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, SH, TSNDonnell WoolfordDefensive backClemson4/3/7AFCA, FWAA, UPI, WCGNS, SH, TSNMichael StonebreakerLinebackerNotre Dame3/3/6AP, FWAA, WCGNS, NEA, SHDarryl HenleyDefensive backUCLA3/2/5AFCA, UPI, WCSH, TSNLouis OliverDefensive backFlorida3/2/5AFCA, AP, WCNEA, SHWayne MartinDefensive tackleArkansas3/1/4AP, FWAA, UPITSNBill HawkinsDefensive endMiami2/1/3AFCA, WCSHFrank StamsDefensive endNotre Dame2/0/2AP, UPI
Special teams Name Position School Number Official OtherKendall TrainorKickerArkansas4/2/6AFCA, AP, UPI, WCSH, TSNKeith EnglishPunterColorado3/3/6AP, UPI, WCGNS, NEA, TSN
Offense
Quarterbacks
Troy Aikman, UCLA (CFHOF) (UPI-1, WC, GNS, TSN) Steve Walsh, Miami (AP-1, FWAA, GNS) Rodney Peete, USC (AP-2; AFCA, GNS, SH) Major Harris, West Virginia (AP-3; GNS)
Running backs
Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Anthony Thompson, Indiana (UPI-1, AP-2; FWAA, WC, TSN) Tim Worley, Georgia (AP-2; AFCA, FWAA, WC, GNS, SH) Darren Lewis, Texas A&M (AP-1, GNS, TSN) Cleveland Gary, Miami (Fla.) (AP-3; FN) Tony Boles, Michigan (AP-3)
Wide receivers
Hart Lee Dykes, Oklahoma State (AP-1, UPI-1, WC, SH, TSN) Jason Phillips, Houston (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, FWAA, SH) Erik Affholter, USC (AFCA, AP-2, TSN) Clarkston Hines, Duke (AP-2, FWAA) Naz Worthen, North Carolina State (GNS) Andre Rison, Michigan State (GNS) Boo Mitchell, Vanderbilt (AP-3) Kendal Smith, Utah State (AP-3)
Tight ends
Marv Cook, Iowa (AFCA, AP-2, UPI-1, GNS) Troy Sadowski, Georgia (WC) Wesley Walls, Mississippi (AP-1) Walter Reeves, Auburn (TSN) Charles Arbuckle, UCLA (SH) Scott Galbraith, USC (AP-3)
Centers
Jake Young, Nebraska (AP-1, FWAA) John Vitale, Michigan (UPI-1, AP-2; WC) Jeff Uhlenhake, Ohio State (TSN) Bern Brostek, Washington (GNS) Jeff Garnica, North Carolina (AP-3)
Offensive guards
Anthony Phillips, Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC) Mike Utley, Washington State (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, FWAA, SH) Mark Stepnoski, Pittsburgh (AFCA, AP-2; FWAA, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Steve Wisniewski, Penn State (AFCA, GNS, TSN) Rick Phillips, West Virginia (AP-2 [OT]; SH) Joe Wolf, Boston College (AP-2) Freddie Childress, Arkansas (AP-3) John Stroia, West Virginia (AP-3)
Offensive tackles
Tony Mandarich, Michigan State (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Andy Heck, Notre Dame (AP-1, UPI-1, TSN) Pat Tomberlin, Florida State (AP-2, WC, SH) Tom Ricketts, Pittsburgh (GNS) Kevin Haverdink, Western Michigan (AP-3) Jim Thompson, Auburn (AP-3)
Defense
Defensive ends
Bill Hawkins, Miami (AFCA, WC, SH) Frank Stams, Notre Dame (AP-1, UPI-1) Trace Armstrong, Florida (GNS, TSN)
Defensive tackles
Mark Messner, Michigan (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Tracy Rocker, Auburn (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Wayne Martin, Arkansas (AP-1, UPI-1, FWAA, TSN) Tim Ryan, USC (FWAA) Dave Haight, Iowa (WC) Benji Roland, Auburn (TSN [NG])
Linebackers
Broderick Thomas, Nebraska (AFCA, AP-1 [DE], FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Derrick Thomas, Alabama (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Michael Stonebreaker, Notre Dame (CFHOF) (AP-1, FWAA, WC, GNS, SH) Keith DeLong, Tennessee (AP-1 UPI-1, GNS, TSN) Percy Snow, Michigan State (TSN) Carnell Lake, UCLA (FWAA) Britt Hager, Texas (AFCA, SH) Jerry Olsavsky, Pittsburgh (AFCA)
Defensive backs
Deion Sanders, Florida State (CFHOF) (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Donnell Woolford, Clemson (AFCA, FWAA, UPI-1, WC, GNS, SH, TSN) Darryl Henley, UCLA (AFCA, UPI-1, WC, SH, TSN) Louis Oliver, Florida (AFCA, AP-1, WC, SH) Markus Paul, Syracuse (AP-1, FWAA, TSN) Mark Carrier, USC (UPI-1) Greg Jackson, LSU (GNS) Bubba McDowell, Miami (Fla) (GNS)
Special teams
Kickers
Kendall Trainor, Arkansas (AFCA, AP-1, UPI-1, WC, SH, TSN) Chris Jacke, UTEP (FWAA, GNS)
Punters
Keith English, Colorado (AP-1, UPI-1, WC, GNS, TSN) Pat Thompson, BYU (AFCA, FWAA, SH)
Returners
Tyrone Thurman, Texas Tech (AP-1) James Henry, Southern Mississippi (TSN)
Key
Official selectors
Other selectors
See also 1988 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team 1988 All-Big Eight Conference football team 1988 All-Big Ten Conference football team 1988 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team 1988 All-SEC football team
References