Captains for Team USA

Captains for tomorrow’s game of Team USA vs. The World have been named by the Coach Merritt.

SAM GAGLIANO, Wide Receiver, Waxahachie (Texas) High School; College Undecided

MIKE HULL, Linebacker, Canon-McMillan (Pa.) High School; Penn State University

KEION PAYNE, Cornerback, Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School; University of Miami, Fla.

TYLER SMITH, Quarterback, Wilson Area (Pa.) High School; University of Maryland

Interview With Steele Devitto [LockerBlogger]

Steele Devitto added his thoughts about the game and Team USA to one of our partner sites, LockerBlogger.

Being a part of this game is a great opportunity; I get to play against great competition and greatly skilled kids. I really want to take back some great memories with me and a win.

Read more…

Q & A With Head Coach Chris Merritt

Saturday, Jan. 30 is quickly approaching, which means time is of the essence for USA Football’s Junior National Team in preparing for the “Team USA vs. The World” game, presented by Riddell. In taking on a World Select team composed of 45 international athletes ages 19 and under, Team USA will rely on the expertise and experience of its 9-man coaching staff, led by head coach Chris Merritt.

Merritt is a natural fit to be leading Team USA in international competition because he has several years of international coaching experience himself. He was the head coach of the European Football League’s (EFL) Hamburg (Germany) Blue Devils that won three Euro Bowls from 1996-1998, the German Bowl in 1996 and the Charity Bowl in 1997.

The Miami Christopher Columbus High School head football coach most recently faced international opponents in last summer’s inaugural International Federation of American Football Junior World Championship, which allowed Merritt the opportunity to guide the defensive backs of America’s first Junior National Team in football as the team took home a gold medal in Canton, Ohio.

Merritt hopes to see the same results with a new set of student-athletes in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., when “Team USA vs. The World” kicks off at noon ET following the AFC and NFC All-Star practices at Lockhart Stadium. See what the coaching great had to say about the upcoming matchup and what this game means for America’s favorite sport.

** There have been four practices so far. When you close your eyes at night, what do you see? What do you think?

Well, athletically they’re great. We know we picked the right athletes. I think we’re knocking off a lot of rust. I don’t think a lot of these kids have touched the ball since the end of the season. For most of our guys, their last game was in November.

** Aside from the obvious where they are physically gifted, any other strengths jump out at you when you look at the various position groups or seven-on-sevens?

I think our secondary is about as good as it can possibly be. Our receivers are getting some good work in right now because they’re getting covered very tightly by, in my opinion, some of the country’s best cover corners around. You look at Keion Payne and Tyrann Mathieu and these guys, they’re blanketing these receivers and it’s making them work.

** Your perspective is better than a lot of folks, in terms of football overseas. What should people know about football outside of the U.S.?

Just that those – I call them kids – those kids that aren’t American, they’re not any less passionate about the sport. And I think that having passion for anything is important and these international kids are students of the game, they just don’t have the technical grounding that our kids have from playing the sport since they were 7 years old. But they’re not any less passionate, and they don’t want to win any less than our kids do. So you mix in athletic ability… and I’ll tell you our kids are not taking them lightly. When we’re all in the hotel, our players see these kids from American Samoa, they see these big linemen from Canada. They know they’ve got their work cut out; they’re not taking anything for granted.

** You’ve played in big games, coached in big games. Where does this game fit?

The rest of the world is caught up in basketball, they’re caught up in baseball. I don’t want my name attached to anything that says they’re catching up in football. So to me, it’s important. Personally, it’s important. I know for a fact that if we win this game, nobody’s probably going to be thinking about it in a week. If this game is close, or if we lose, they’re going to think about it and that motivates me.

[Written by Steve Alic & Nicole Lukosius]

Numerical Roster for Team USA

Need a quick reference for who everyone is on Team USA? Try this…

Team USA Blogs

Sam Gagliano and Mike Hull blogged about some of their thoughts on being selected for Team USA.

Both players have been standing out amongst their peers and should be able to contribute come Saturday versus the World Select Team.

Interview with Wide Receiver Sam Gagliano

Interview with Linebacker Mike Hull

Team USA Coach Chris Merritt on WQAM Radio [7p Friday] (UPDATE)

Team USA’s Head Coach Chris Merritt will be on 590 WQAM (Miami radio) as a guest on Channing Crowder’s radio show.  Crowder is a Univ. of Florida alum and current Miami Dolphin linebacker.

The show runs from 7p – 8p and can be listened to via 590 AM in Miami or through the WQAM Listen Live feature.

UPDATE:  Coach Chris Merritt will not be appearing on the show tonight.

Roster Finalized for Team USA

The final twelve players have been added to Team USA’s roster. This completes the US’s roster and gives them a formidable opponent for the World Select Team.

Here’s a brief rundown of player’s names, their positions, home states and verbal commitments (if applicable):

1. JOSH ALLEN, C, Texas, Univ. of Minnesota
2. SHAWN CORKER, WR, Fla., Texas Tech
3. BEN HOPFINGER, PK, Fla.
4. JOSH HUFF, CB, Texas, TCU
5. RICHARD LEONARD, CB, Fla., Florida International
6. JORDAN MCDONALD, DE, Ariz., Arizona State
7. KENDALL MONTGOMERY, TE, Fla.
8. KEION PAYNE, CB, Fla., Miami (Fla.)
9. LEBRANDEN RICHARDON, DE, Fla.
10. NICK ROWLAND, G, Ariz., Oregon
11. THOMAS RYAN, DE, Fla., Vanderbilt
12. KEVIN SCHLOEMER, T, Ohio, Cincinatti

Sam Gagliano Makes Big Time Catch and Run

Team USA’s Sam Gagliano will be lining up as a wide receiver and looking to take one to the house. Check him out in action.

Today: Carl Peterson on 105.7 “The Fan”

USA Football Chairman Carl Peterson will be a featured guest today (Jan. 8) on Baltimore’s SportsRadio 105.7 “The Fan” at 5:25 p.m. ET.

Chairman Peterson will discuss Sunday’s Ravens-Patriots playoff game, USA Football, and USA Football’s 2010 Junior National Team which will face a World Select team on Jan. 30 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Tyler Smith and Titus Till of USA Football’s team have verbally committed to the University of Maryland this fall.

You may listen to Carl’s interview live at 1057theFan.com … click the “Listen Live” graphic in the upper right of the homepage.