The 1973 Little All-America college football team, also known as the Small College All-America football team, is composed of college football players from small colleges and universities who were selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the best players at each position. For 1973, the AP selected three teams, each team having separate offensive and defensive platoons.[1][2]

Walter Payton, who went on to set NFL records for career rushing yards and touchdowns, was named to the second team as a running back. The first-team running backs were Billy "White Shoes" Johnson of Widener 1,496 rushing yards, 23 touchdowns), freshman Wilbert Montgomery of Abilene Christian (compiling a record 31 touchdowns in the regular season, 37 including post-season), and Mike Thomas of UNLV (1,741 rushing yards.[2]

Kim McQuilken of Lehigh was the first-team quarterback. He completed 62.5% of his passes for 2,603 yards and 19 touchdowns.[2]

Defensive end Ed "Too Tall" Jones from Tennessee State stood out on the defensive squad and was the No. 1 pick in the 1974 NFL Draft.

First team

Offense

  • Quarterback - Kim McQuilken (senior, 6'2", 205 pounds), Lehigh
  • Running back - Billy "White Shoes" Johnson (junior, 5'9", 175 pounds), Widener
  • Running back - Wilbert Montgomery (freshman, 5'11", 190 pounds), Abilene Christian
  • Running back - Mike Thomas (junior, 5'11", 188 pounds), UNLV
  • Wide receiver - Don Hutt (senior, 6'1", 194 pounds), Boise State
  • Tight end - Scott Garske (senior, 6'4", 240 pounds), Eastern Washington
  • Tackle - Steve Drongowski (senior, 6'0", 215 pounds), Wittenberg
  • Tackle - Henry Lawrence (senior, 6'4", 253 pounds), Florida A&M
  • Guard - Joe Kotval (senior, 6'3", 250 pounds), Buena Vista
  • Guard - Herbert Scott (junior, 6'3", 245 pounds), Virginia Union
  • Center - Mark King (junior, 6'3", 230 pounds), Troy State

Defense

Second team

Offense

  • QB - Clint Longley, Abilene Christian
  • RB - Boyce Callahan, Jacksonville State
  • RB - Walter Payton, Jackson State
  • RB - Jimmy Smith, Northern Arizona
  • WR - Roger Carr, Louisiana Tech
  • TE - Bill Schlegel, Lehigh
  • T - Gregory Kindle, Tennessee State
  • T - John Passananti, Western Illinois
  • G - Phil Gustafson, Kearney State
  • G - Doug Lowrey, Arkansas State
  • C - Ed Paradis, Indiana (Pennsylvania)

Defense

  • DE - Jay Buse, Linfield
  • DE - Adrian Gant, Livingston
  • DT - Fred Dean, Louisiana Tech
  • DT - Levi Stanley, Hawaii
  • MG - Alan Klein, Southeastern Louisiana
  • LB - Terry Factor, Slippery Rock
  • LB - Greg Lee, Cal Poly
  • LB - Steve Nelson, North Dakota State
  • DB - Ralph Gebhardt, Rochester
  • DB - Jim Muir, Elon
  • DB - Mike Woodley, Northern Iowa

Third team

Offense

  • QB - Prinson Poindexter, Livingston
  • RB - Nate Anderson, Eastern Illinois
  • RB - Tony Giglio, Lafayette
  • RB - Saul Ravanell, Nebraska-Omaha
  • WR - John Holland, Tennessee State
  • TE - Bernie Peterson, Linfield
  • T - Dave Clapham, Nevada-Reno
  • T - Jim Pietrzak, Eastern Michigan
  • G - Coy Gibson, Wofford
  • G - Thomas Saxson, North Carolina Central
  • C - R.W. Hicks, Humboldt State

Defense

  • DE - Ed McAleny, UMass
  • DE - Lawerence Pillers, Alcorn A&M
  • DT - Glenn Ellis, Elon
  • DT - John Teerlinck, Western Illinois
  • MG - Sam Moser, Sioux Falls
  • LB - Greg Blankenship, Hayward State
  • LB - Joe McNeely, Louisiana Tech
  • LB - Charles Battle, Grambling
  • DB - William Bryant, Grambling
  • DB - Keith Krebsbach, North Dakota State
  • DB - Anthony Leonard, Virginia Union

See also

References

  1. ↑ "McQuilken, Johnson Little All-Americans". The News Journal. December 6, 1973. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Johnsons Pace Little All-Stars". The Daily Advertiser. December 6, 1973. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
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