Team USA names 6 captains including Colorado QB Hawkins and all-time NCAA leading rusher Kmic (video)

Captains for the 2011 U.S. Men’s National Team have been selected for the fourth International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Senior World ChampionshipJuly 8-16 in Austria. USA Football assembles America’s national teams in the sport for international competition.

Team USA captains – who represent all four NCAA football divisions – were selected by their teammates at the conclusion of training camp, which was held June 27-July 4 at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. The 2011 U.S. Men’s National Team is comprised of 45 players representing 25 states. U.S. Men’s National Team players must be at least 20 years old.

2011 U.S. Men’s National Team Captains:

DEMETRIUS EATON,Linebacker, Milwaukee, Wisc.; Northwestern University
CODY HAWKINS, Quarterback, Boise, Idaho; University of Colorado
NATE KMIC, Running back, Delta, Ohio; University of Mount Union (Ohio)
OSAYI OSUNDE, Linebacker, Bloomsburg, Pa.; Villanova University
MIKE PETERSON, Tight end, Atlantic, Iowa; Northwest Missouri State University
ZACH WATKINS, Linebacker, Independence, Mo.; Washburn (Kan.) University

The team is led by former Northwest Missouri State University head coach and three-time NCAA Division II national champion MEL TJEERDSMA. Tjeerdsma led Northwest Missouri State to a 183-43 (.810) record in 17 seasons there. He was among the first three coaches inducted into the NCAA Division II College Football Hall of Fame before retiring in 2010.

The IFAF Senior World Championship is an eight-nation football tournament held every four years since 1999. Games will be played in Graz, Innsbruck and Vienna. The U.S. defeated Japan, 23-20, in double overtime in Tokyo, Japan, to win the 2007 tournament, the first that included Team USA. Prior to the United States’ participation, Japan earned gold medals at the first two IFAF Senior World Championships played in Palermo, Italy (1999), and Frankfurt, Germany (2003).