U.S. Men’s National team selected: includes 2 CIS players Jordan and Thomas

By Steve Alic
Thirty-nine former college football standouts have been selected to play for the 2011 U.S. Men’s National Team in football in 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.

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. Team USA defeated Japan, 23-20, in double overtime in Tokyo, Japan, to win the 2007 tournament, the first that included the United States. Prior to America’s participation, Japan earned gold medals at the first two IFAF Senior World Championships played in Palermo, Italy (1999), and Frankfurt, Germany (2003).

Highlighting Team USA’s roster are former Colorado starting quarterback Cody Hawkins, former University of Mount Union (Ohio) running back Nate Kmic and former Southern Utah defensive back DeWayne Lewis.

Hawkins established most major passing records with the Buffaloes, including yards (7,409), touchdown passes (70), completions (667) and attempts (1,214). He was named honorable mention Freshman All-America after throwing for 2,693 yards and 19 touchdowns as well as leading Colorado to an Independence Bowl victory in 2007.

Kmic is the NCAA’s career rushing leader with 8,074 yards on 1189 carries (6.8 average), eclipsing the all-divisions record his senior year in 2008. Named to The Associated Press Little All-America team in 2008, he led Mount Union to three of its 10 NCAA Division III national championships (2005, ’06 and ’08).

Lewis played two seasons in the NFL after a brilliant college career at Southern Utah. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, playing parts of that season and the next with Jacksonville before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Fifty-nine (59) countries spanning five continents possess national football federations dedicated solely to football.

There are 21 players not on Team USA with either NFL practice squad or NFL Europe experience. In addition, Canada’s national team includes 13 current Canadian Football League players. Punter Ben Graham of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals will play for his native Australia.
Team USA is led by former Northwest Missouri State University head coach and three-time NCAA Division II national champion Mel Tjeerdsma (pronounced “CHURCH-ma”). Six players will be added to the U.S. roster in the coming weeks. All IFAF Senior World Championship players must be at least 20 years old.

The United States is part of Group A along with Australia, Germany and Mexico. Group B includes Austria, Canada, France and Japan. A round robin schedule in group play determines who will compete for gold and bronze medals.

USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States. National team participation does not affect NCAA eligibility.

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.

“Our roster holds tremendously skilled players who recognize that success in football is rooted in playing as a team – and playing for America galvanizes us even more,” Tjeerdsma said. “We’ll be ready to face excellent competition in Austria and celebrate the world’s greatest game on an international stage.”

U.S. Men’s National Team roster:

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	College	Hometown
30	Maurice Banks	DB	6-3	212	Georgetown	Brandywine, Md.
5	Matt Bassuener	QB	6-2	210	Georgetown	Port Edwards, Wisc.
91	Charles Bay	DE	6-3	250	Dartmouth	Marietta, Ga.
17	Gregg Berkshire	K-P	6-2	201	Ashland (Ohio)	Ashland, Ohio
3	Greg Betterson	WR	6-0	185	Delta State (Miss.)	Niagara Falls, N.Y.
40	Richie Brockel	FB	6-1	250	Boise State	Phoenix, Ariz.
51	Gerard Bryant	DL	6-0	250	St. Lawrence (N.Y.)	White Plains, N.Y.
9	Myles Burnsides	DB	5-11	194	Northwest Missouri St.	Maryville, Mo.
99	Daniel Calvin	DT	6-3	317	Kansas State	Bakersfield, Calif.
55	Daniel Catalano	DE	6-4	265	Northern Michigan	Belle Mead, N.J.
93	Wacey Coleman	DL	6-2	245	Black Hills State	Rozet, Wyo.
92	Johnny Dingle	DL	6-3	270	West Virginia	Miami, Fla.
42	Demetrius Eaton	LB	6-2	250	Northwestern	Milwaukee, Wis.
27	Jeff Franklin	CB	5-8	185	Central State (Ohio)	Fairborn, Ohio
32	Henry Harris	RB	5-8	185	Southeast Missouri State	Memphis, Tenn.
7	Cody Hawkins	QB	5-11	190	Colorado	Boise, Idaho
43	Terrence Jackson	LB	5-11	235	Indiana-Pennsylvania	Media, Pa.
56	John Jacobs	LB	6-2	230	Saginaw (Mich.) Valley State	Prudenville, Mich.
58	Brandon Jordan	OL	6-4	315	Missouri S&T / Saint Mary’s 2011	New Orleans, La.
1	Nate Kmic	RB	5-9	195	Mount Union (Ohio)	Delta, Ohio
72	Frank Knights	OL	6-1	300	Southeast Missouri State	Aptos, Calif.
65	Josh Koeppel	OL	6-2	273	Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa
21	Jordan Lake	S	6-1	215	Baylor	Houston, Texas
2	Ricardo Lenhart	WR	6-3	190	Otterbein	Sidney, Ohio
12	DeWayne Lewis	CB	5-11	190	Southern Utah	Denver, Colo.
20	Taylor Malm	WR	5-9	192	Northwestern (Iowa)	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
13	Ben McLaughlin	QB	6-3	205	Louisiana College	Dierks, Ark.
6	Lane Olson	LB	5-10	210	Wisconsin-Whitewater	Racine, Wis.
24	Osayi Osunde	LB	6-1	245	Villanova	Bloomsburg, Pa.
88	Mike Peterson	TE	6-2	245	Northwest Missouri State	Atlantic, Iowa
33	Joe Sturdivant	S	6-2	210	SMU	Lilburn, Ga.
70	Luke Summers	OL	6-4	290	Mount Union (Ohio)	New Middletown, Ohio
25	Da’Shawn Thomas	RB	5-11	205	Univ. of Western Ontario	Newport, Ark.
23	Daniel Tromello	DB	6-0	200	Occidental	Newbury Park, Calif.
22	Stephan Virgil	CB	5-11	190	Virginia Tech	Rocky Mount, N.C.
77	Dane Warderburg	OL	6-7	290	Northwest Missouri State	Creston, Iowa
44	Zach Watkins	LB	6-0	232	Washburn (Kan.)	Independence, Mo.
8	Korey Williams	WR	6-0	185	Northwestern Oklahoma St.	New Orleans, La.
54	Cameron Zipp	OL	6-1	278	Southern Mississippi	Mandeville, La.

U.S. Men’s National Team coaching staff:

Name	Position	College
Mel Tjeerdsma	Head coach	Former Northwest Missouri State head coach
Larry Kehres	Offensive coordinator	Mount Union (Ohio) head coach
Lou Tepper	Defensive coordinator	Former Illinois head coach
Steve Bernstein	Defensive backs	Former Virginia secondary coach
Derrick Williams	Defensive backs	Mary-Hardin Baylor (Texas) secondary coach
Matt Webb	Defensive line	Southeastern Louisiana State defensive coordinator
Erik Raeburn	Offensive line	Wabash (Ind.) head coach
Mickey Joseph	Running backs	Langston (Okla.) interim head coach
Adam Austin	Receivers	Midwestern State (Texas) quarterbacks coach
Jordan Brown	Tight ends/Football Ops	Hastings (Neb.) defensive line coach

U.S. Men’s National Team Schedule:

DATE	GAME	TIME
July 8	United States vs. Australia	9:00 a.m. ET
July 10	Germany vs. United States	1:00 p.m. ET
July 12	United States vs. Mexico	1:00 p.m. ET

*Games above will be played in Innsbruck, Austria
2011 IFAF Senior World Championship Medal Round Schedule:

DATE	GAME	TIME
July 15	Bronze Medal Game	1:00 p.m. ET
July 16	Gold Medal Game	1:00 p.m. ET

*Games above will be played in Vienna, Austria