1951 College Football All-America Team
The 1951 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 1951. The eight selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1951 season are the All-American Board, the American Football Coaches Association the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, the International News Service, the Newspaper Enterprise Association, the Sporting News and the United Press.
Consensus All-Americans
For the year 1951, the NCAA recognizes eight published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.| Name | Position | School | Number | Official | Other |
| Bill McColl | End | Stanford | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APO, FWO, INSO, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Don Coleman | Tackle | Michigan St. | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APO, FWO, INSO, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Dick Kazmaier | Halfback | Princeton | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APO, FWO, INSO, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Hank Lauricella | Halfback | Tennessee | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APO, FWO, INSO, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Jim Weatherall | Tackle | Oklahoma | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APD, FWD, INSD, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Bob Ward | Guard | Maryland | 8/8 | AAB, AFCA, APO, FWD, INSO, NEAO, SN, UP | CTO, WC |
| Les Richter | Guard | California | 6/8 | AAB, APD, FWD, INSO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, CTD, WC |
| Dick Hightower | Center | SMU | 5/8 | AAB, AFCA, INSO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Babe Parilli | Quarterback | Kentucky | 5/8 | AAB, INSD, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, CTO, WC |
| Johnny Karras | Halfback | Illinois | 5/8 | AFCA, AAB, FWO, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Bob Carey | End | Michigan St. | 5/8 | AAB, APO, NEAO, SN, UP | CP, WC |
| Ray Beck | Guard | Georgia Tech | 4/8 | AFCA, APD, FWO, NEAD | COL, CP, CTD |
All-American selections for 1951
Ends
- Bill McColl, Stanford
- Bob Carey, Michigan State
- Pat O'Donahue, Wisconsin
- Billy Howton, Rice
- Frank McPhee, Princeton
- Dewey McConnell, Wyoming
- Stan Williams, Baylor
- Leo Sugar, Purdue
- Eddie Bell, Penn
- Doug Atkins, Tennessee
- Tom McCann, Holy Cross
- Jim Mutscheller, Notre Dame
- Lowell Perry, Michigan
- Ed Barker, Washington State
- Hal Faverty, Wisconsin
Tackles
- Don Coleman, Michigan State
- Jim Weatherall, Oklahoma
- Pug Pearman, Tennessee
- Bob Toneff, Notre Dame
- Jack Little, Texas A&M
- Chuck Ulrich, Illinois
- Bill George, Wake Forest
- Doug Conaway, Texas Christian
- Lamar Wheat, Georgia Tech
- Dick Modzelewski, Maryland
- Tom Johnson, Michigan
- Ollie Spencer, Kansas
- Bob Werckle, Vanderbilt
- Hal Mitchell, UCLA
- John Feltch, Holy Cross
- Jerrell Price, Texas Tech
Guards
- Bob Ward, Maryland
- Les Richter, California
- Ray Beck, Georgia Tech
- Joe Palumbo, Virginia
- Ted Daffer, Tennessee
- Marv Matuszak, Tulsa
- Nick Liotta, Villanova
- Chet Millett, Holy Cross
- George Mrkonic, Kansas
- Jim Donarski, Arizona
- Norm Manoogian, Stanford
- John Michels, Tennessee
- Harley Sewell, Texas
- Gerald Audette, Columbia
- Bill Athey, Baylor
Centers
- Dick Hightower, Southern Methodist
- Pat Cannamela, USC ; NEAD-1; CP-2 )
- Doug Moseley, Kentucky
- Keith Flowers, Texas Christian
- Chuck Boerio, Illinois
- George Tarasovic, LSU
- Charlie Harris, California
- Donn Moomaw, UCLA
Quarterbacks
- Babe Parilli, Kentucky ; CTO-1
- Larry Isbell, Baylor
- Gary Kerkorian, Stanford
- Al Dorow, Michigan State
- Bill Wade, Vanderbilt
Halfbacks
- Dick Kazmaier, Princeton ; SN; UP-1; CP-1; CTO-1
- Hank Lauricella, Tennessee ; SN; UP-1; FWO-1; CP-1; CTO-1
- Johnny Karras, Illinois
- Ed Modzelewski, Maryland
- Bobby Dillon, Texas ; NEAD-1
- Al Brosky, Illinois
- Harry Agganis, Boston U.
- Jim Ellis, Michigan State
- Avatus Stone, Syracuse
- Johnny Bright, Drake
- Vic Janowicz, Ohio State
- Veryl Switzer, Kansas State
- Jim Dooley, Miami
Fullbacks
- Ollie Matson, San Francisco ; CP-2; INSO-1; NEAD-1
- Hugh McElhenny, Washington ; CTO-1 )
- Frank Gifford, USC
Key
- Bold – Consensus All-American
- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
Official selectors
- AAB = All-America Board
- AFCA = American Football Coaches Association, published in Collier's Weekly
- APO/APD = Associated Press. The AP selected separate offensive and defensive teams. "The team was picked after the Dec. 1 games in consultation with 11 prominent sportswriters. They had the benefit of reports from hundreds of writers and broadcasters throughout the country."
- FWO/FWD = The Football Writers Association of America picked separate offensive and defensive teams: "22-man offensive and defensive all-star teams picked by Grantland Rice and the Football Writers Association of America for Look magazine
- INSO/INSD = International News Service, later merged with UP to form UPI. The INS began selecting separate offensive and defensive teams in 1948 and continued that tradition in 1951.
- NEAO/NEAD = Newspaper Enterprise Association. The NEA selected separate offensive and defensive teams.
- SN = Sporting News
- UP = United Press. The United Press did not select separate offensive and defensive teams. They selected only 11 first-team players: "Chosen by ballots from 260 sports writers and broadcasters in all sections of the nation, these players were considered the finest at their positions."
Other selectors
- CP = Central Press Association: "the 21st annual Central Press All-American football team, selected as usual with the assistance of the nation's football captains"
- CTO/CTD = Chicago Tribunes 5th annual All-Players All-America team determined based on polling of players in cooperation with the major universities and colleges throughout the United States. The results were based on a record 18,876 votes.
- WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation