Team USA Under 19 Selects take the field at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas for their first game of International Bowl IX to face Team Nordic, Friday, Jan 12.
The Team USA roster is filled with NCAA Division I commits including quarterbacks Quincy Patterson (6’4″, 230 lb) from Chicago’s Solorio Academy who has committed to Virginia Tech, and Rowlett, Texas native Jaylen Maden (6’3″. 210 lb) who is headed to Mississippi State.
The head coach of the U.S. Under-19 National Team is Elijah Brooks of DeMatha Catholic(Hyattsville, Maryland) High School. Brooks recently completed his seventh season as head coach at DeMatha. Brooks led the Stags to four consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships from 2013-2016, including the program’s first undefeated season in a decade (2016, 12-0).
U.S. National Team alumni include wide receiver Corey Coleman (Cleveland Browns), wide receiver Devin Funchess (Carolina Panthers), running back Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams), defensive back Tyrann Mathieu (Arizona Cardinals), offensive lineman Jack Mewhort(Indianapolis Colts), running back Samaje Perine (Washington Redskins), defensive end Stephon Tuitt (Pittsburgh Steelers) and quarterback Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Head coach for Team Nordic 2018 is Jim Criner, who has been coaching football since 1967. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State Universityfrom 1983 to 1986, compiling a career college football head coaching record of 76–46–3 (.620). Criner was also the head coach of the NFL Europe’s Scottish Claymore’s from 1995 to 2000, and the short-lived XFL’s Las Vegas Outlaws in 2001.
His 1980 Boise State team won the NCAA Division I-AA championship and his Scottish Claymores squad won World Bowl IV in 1996. Criner was later a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs of the NFL under head coach Dick Vermeil, whom he assisted at UCLA in the mid-1970s.
Offensive Line coach for Team Nordic 2018 is Mike Berry who has coached football for more than 35 years, including coaching the offensive line for the USC Trojans, Tennessee Volunteers and Detroit Lions – and won the BCS National Championship in 1998 with Tennessee Volunteers.
Defensive Line coach for Team Nordic 2018 is ex NFL defensive lineman Björn Werner, who started playing football in his hometown of Berlin, before moving to Salisbury High School, and then Florida State. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Some of the top coaches from the Nordic countries are also involved including Jørgen Bennestad-Johansen, Head Coach for Norway’s U17, U19 and men’s national teams. Toumas Heikkinen, head coach of Finland’s men’s national team, Sebastian Brinkenfeldt, head coach of Sweden’s U17 national team and Lars Carlsen, head coach for Denmark’s U19 and men’s national teams.
Watch the game live here
Watch the game live on ESPN Select.
LIVESTREAM: International Bowl IX – Team USA v. Team Nordic Jan. 12 8p (9p ET, 3a Jan. 13 CET)
Watch a replay of the 2016 International Bowl game between Team USA Under 19 Selects and Canada.
