Felix Romero added to U.S. Under-19 National Team roster

Press Box

Felix Romero added to U.S. Under-19 National Team roster

Steve Alic, Director of Communications Mon, 01/30/2012 - 1:19pm

Cedar Park (Texas) High School offensive lineman FELIX ROMERO has been selected to play for the 2012 U.S. Under-19 National Team, assembled by USA Football.

The U.S. National Team, comprised of 50 top high school players spanning 19 states, will compete in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 1 – National Signing Day – in the third annual International Bowl^®, formerly Team USA vs. The World. The Americanswill face an IFAF World Team of top players age 19-and-under from outside the United States. More information can be found at www.internationalbowl2012.com.

The International Bowl is sanctioned by International Federation of American Football andwill be played at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex. IFAF is composed of more than 60 nations spanning six continents that possess a national federation dedicated solely to American football.

Team USA is led by STEVE SPECHT, head coach of Cincinnati St. Xavier High School. Specht led St. Xavier to Ohio Division I (largest school division) state titles in 2005 and 2007. He is 80-20 (.800) since becoming the head coach at his high school alma mater following the 2003 season.

A national team exemption granted by the NCAA allows high school seniors to play for USA Football and not have their participation count as one of their two permitted all-star game appearances. The International Bowl is recognized as a national team competition.

In addition to their exceptional high school football achievements, many Team USA players earned roster spots by virtue of their strong display of skills at the U.S. Under-19 National Team Trials in Marietta, Ga., in May. Nearly 200 high school football players from 32 states competed for a Team USA roster spot at the National Team Trials.

USA Football is the sport’s national governing body in the United States and is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and each of its 32 teams.

GREG MARSHALLof the University of Western Ontario in Canada is the IFAF World Team’s head coach. The IFAF World Team’s 13-member coaching staff hails from 10 IFAF member federations: American Samoa, Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Sweden.

The U.S. Under-19 team defeated The World, 21-14, in February 2011 in Austin, Texas, as well as 17-0, in January 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The U.S. also won the gold medal at the IFAF Under-19 World Championship in Canton, Ohio, during the summer of 2009.

U.S. Under-19 National Team roster:

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	High School	Hometown	College verbal
1	Todd Gurley	RB	6-1	195	Tarboro	Tarboro, N.C.	Georgia
2	Daje Johnson	WR	5-11	190	Hendrickson	Pflugerville, Texas	TCU
3	Ray Buchanan Jr.	DB	5-10	176	Peachtree Ridge	Suwanee, Ga.	Arkansas
4	Colby Cooke	K-P	6-0	195	Goochland	Sandy Hook, Va.	Vanderbilt
5	Devin Funchess	TE	6-5	205	Harrison	Farmington Hills, Mich.	Michigan
6	Ifeadi Odenigbo	DE	6-4	210	Centerville	Centerville, Ohio	Northwestern
7	Imani Cross	RB	6-1	220	North Hall	Gainesville, Ga.	Nebraska
9	Javelle Allen	QB	6-1	205	Prosper	Prosper, Texas	Arizona
10	Noor Davis	LB	6-4	225	Leesburg	Leesburg, Fla.	Stanford
11	Andre McDonald	WR	6-2	200	Hopkins	Plymouth, Minn.	Minnesota
12	Se’Von Pittman	DT	6-5	245	McKinley	Canton, Ohio	Ohio State
13	Greg Garmon	RB	6-2	195	McDowell	Erie, Pa.	Iowa
15	Corey Coleman	WR	5-11	185	Pearce	Richardson, Texas	Baylor
18	Sean Maguire	QB	6-3	200	Seton Hall Prep	West Orange, N.J.	Florida State
19	Jarrett Solomon	QB	6-1	202	Bishop Gorman	Las Vegas, Nev.	Undecided
20	Alex Carter	S	6-0	195	Briar Woods	Ashburn, Va.	Stanford
22	Terry Richardson	CB	5-9	160	Cass Tech	Detroit, Mich.	Michigan
23	Jarrett Irving	S	5-10	185	Dekaney	Spring, Texas	Houston
24	Timothy Cole	LB	6-2	220	Brenham	Brenham, Texas	Texas
25	Ryan Reid	CB	5-11	190	Sherman	Sherman, Texas	Baylor
29	Zach Espinosa	S	6-2	203	Cedar Park	Cedar Park, Texas	Rice
33	D.J. Singleton	S	6-2	200	St. Peter’s	Union, N.J.	Wisconsin
34	James Ross	LB	6-0	209	St. Mary’s	Orchard Lake, Mich.	Michigan
35	Ronald Geohaghan	S	6-0	185	Allendale-Fairfax	Fairfax, S.C.	Clemson
40	Gimel President	DE	6-3	240	Wando	Mount Pleasant, S.C.	Auburn
42	Carlos Mendoza	LB	6-0	215	Oaks Christian	Oxnard, Calif.	Arizona State
47	Hardy Nickerson Jr.	LB	5-11	210	Bishop O’Dowd	Oakland, Calif.	California
52	Spencer Stanley	OL	6-4	275	Trinity Valley	Fort Worth, Texas	Rice
54	Royce Jenkins-Stone	LB	6-2	215	Cass Tech	Detroit, Mich.	Michigan
55	Boone Feldt	OL	6-3	285	Hays	Buda, Texas	North Texas
56	Jordan Richmond	LB	6-2	225	Ryan	Denton, Texas	Texas A&M
65	Ian Park	OL	6-4	295	Upper St. Clair	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Northwestern
67	Joe Harris	OL	6-4	290	Lithonia	Lithonia, Ga.	South Carolina
71	Caleb Stacey	OL	6-4	275	Oak Hills	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati
72	Trey Keenan	OL	6-5	275	Argyle	Argyle, Texas	Texas Tech
74	*Felix Romero*	OL	*6-3*	*300*	*Cedar Park*	*Cedar Park, Texas*	*Texas State*
75	Freddie Tagaloa	OL	6-8	300	Salesian	Richmond, Calif.	California
77	Adrian Bellard	OL	6-5	295	Brenham	Brenham, Texas	Texas A&M
78	Brian Gaia	OL	6-3	290	Gilman School	Baltimore, Md.	Penn State
80	Frank Epitropoulos	WR	6-3	200	Upper Arlington	Upper Arlington, Ohio	Ohio State
81	Brennen Blakemore	WR	5-10	175	Wimberley	Wimberley, Texas	Undecided
85	Canon Smith	TE	6-4	240	Briarwood Christian	Birmingham, Ala.	Undecided
88	Romond Deloatch	WR	6-4	215	Phoebus	Hampton, Va.	Temple
90	Malcom Brown	DT	6-2	280	Brenham	Brenham, Texas	Texas
91	Moana Ofahengaue	DE	6-4	210	Westlake	Lehi, Utah	Undecided
93	Caleb Bluiett	DE	6-3	230	West Brook	Beaumont, Texas	Texas
95	Joey Hunt	DT	6-3	285	El Campo	El Campo, Texas	TCU
98	Ikenna Nwafor	DT	6-5	300	Cistercian	Irving, Texas	Stanford
*	J.J. Denman	OL	6-7	305	Pennsbury	Fairless Hills, Pa.	Rutgers
*	Paul Griggs	K-P	6-0	195	Latin	Charlotte, N.C.	Purdue
*	Rob Riederer	S	6-1	205	Holton	Holton, Kan.	Tulsa
*	Jameis Winston	QB	6-4	200	Hueytown	Hueytown, Ala.	Florida State
* Named to team but injured and will not play

U.S. Under-19 National Team coaching staff:

Name	Position	High school	Hometown
Steve Specht	Head coach	St. Xavier	Cincinnati, Ohio
Chris Merritt	Offensive coordinator	Christopher Columbus	Miami, Fla.
Rick Streiff	Defensive coordinator	Cathedral	Indianapolis, Ind.
Tom Bolden	Tight ends, H-backs	Colerain	Cincinnati, Ohio
Nunzio Campanile	Running backs	Bergen Catholic	Oradell, N.J.
Craig Chessher	Defensive line	Stony Point	Round Rock, Texas
Kirk Heidelberg	Offensive line	Rockford Christian	Rockford, Ill.
Ken Lucas	Secondary	Annapolis Area Christian	Annapolis, Md.
Cory Moore	Linebackers	Lakewood	St. Petersburg, Fla.
Charlie Ward	Receivers	Westbury Christian	Houston, Texas
L.D. Williams	Offensive line	Unaffiliated	Austin, Texas

USA Football’s national team program is supported by corporate partners American Family Insurance, Marriott, Riddell, Sports Authority, Rawlings, Gatorade, Upper Deck, Shock Doctor, St.Vincent Sports Performance and Cutters Gloves.

About USA Football: USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 80 football skill development events annually for coaches, players, game officials and youth league commissioners. Indianapolis-based USA Football is the official football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams and the Atlantic Coast Conference. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need. Endowed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.

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Felix Romero added to U.S. Under-19 National Team roster