By Adam Wire
Forty-five high school and college football players spanning 19 states have been selected for the United States Under-19 National Team that will compete in the 2018 International Federation of American Football World Championship, USA Football announced last week.
Following its training camp July 3-12 at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff), the National Team will travel to Mexico City for the first of its three games July 14 against Australia. The event – held every two years – culminates with the Gold Medal Game on July 22.
The head coach of the U.S. Under-19 National Team is Matt Hennesy of Pawhuska (Oklahoma) High School. A high school coaching veteran of 26 years, Hennesy enters his first season at Pawhuska. In 2012, he took over a Locust Grove (Oklahoma) program that had won just two games in its previous three seasons, and went 52-18 (.742) during his tenure. Hennesy was defensive coordinator for the 2016 U-19 National Team that competed in the IFAF World Championship in Harbin, China, and was head coach of the 2017 U-18 squad that defeated Canada in the North American Championship.
The United States is one of six nations that will compete for the championship, along with Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Sweden. The U.S. earned a silver medal at the 2016 IFAF U-19 World Championship, as it lost to Canada 24-6. The U.S. has won two of the four World Championships to date (2009, ’14), while Canada claimed the other two (’12, ’16).
2018 U.S. Under-19 National Team roster:
| NAME |
POS |
HT |
WT |
HIGH SCHOOL / COLLEGE (FALL 2018) |
| Alek Jacobs |
QB |
6-0 |
190 |
Augustana College (Illinois) |
| Jake O’Donnell |
QB |
6-4 |
185 |
James Madison University (Virginia) |
| Alec Meza |
RB |
5-10 |
195 |
Scottsdale College (Arizona) |
| Treshaun Ward |
RB |
5-9 |
185 |
Tampa Bay Tech (Florida) H.S. |
| Chaise Ellis |
RB |
5-11 |
210 |
Midwestern State University (Texas) |
| Casey Clanton |
TE |
6-4 |
240 |
Central H.S. (Phoenix) |
| Emerson Freeman |
TE |
6-2 |
230 |
Western State University (Colorado) |
| Ben Roots |
OL |
6-4 |
280 |
Desert Mountain H.S. (Scottsdale, Arizona) |
| Julian Bradley |
OL |
6-3 |
285 |
Henderson (Nevada) H.S. |
| Dugan Kelly |
OL |
6-4 |
300 |
Quincy (Illinois) University |
| Eli Save |
OL |
6-4 |
320 |
Southern Oregon University |
| Kobe Rios |
OL |
6-6 |
300 |
Rock Island (Illinois) H.S. |
| Donovan Robinson |
OL |
6-6 |
310 |
Avalon (Maryland) H.S. |
| Isaiah Butler |
OL |
6-4 |
310 |
Kennedale (Texas) H.S. |
| Kaiden Baxter |
OL |
6-2 |
275 |
Phoenix College |
| Ezekiel Ennis |
WR |
6-0 |
185 |
Sacred Heart University (Connecticut) |
| Caleb Easley |
WR |
6-0 |
175 |
San Tan Charter School (Gilbert, Arizona)* |
| Harrington Greer |
WR |
6-5 |
190 |
South Bend (Indiana) Riley H.S.* |
| Randy Rivera |
WR |
5-10 |
175 |
Eleanor Roosevelt (California) H.S. |
| Dax Hodges |
WR |
6-4 |
185 |
Mesa (Arizona) College |
| Ali Jennings |
WR |
6-3 |
185 |
Highland Springs (Virginia) H.S. |
| Immanuel Hickman |
DE |
6-3 |
235 |
Matoaca (Virginia) H.S. |
| De’Andre Clifton |
DE |
6-3 |
230 |
Avalon (Maryland) H.S. |
| Ben Smiley |
DE |
6-6 |
280 |
Indian River (Virginia) H.S. |
| Rick D’Abreu |
DE |
6-3 |
235 |
Thomas Dale (Virginia) H.S. |
| Cooper Beebe |
DT |
6-3 |
310 |
Piper (Kansas) H.S.** |
| Colin Christman-Gourley |
DT |
6-3 |
300 |
Texas A&M – Commerce |
| Scott Jones |
DT |
6-1 |
285 |
Phoenix College |
| Hasani Adams |
DT |
6-3 |
300 |
West Memphis (Arkansas) H.S. |
| Nathan Amico |
LB |
6-1 |
225 |
University of Arizona |
| Vinny LoSauro |
LB |
6-1 |
210 |
Ohio Wesleyan University |
| Jonathan Perkins |
LB |
6-2 |
210 |
Cajon (California) H.S.*** |
| Spencer Shaver |
LB |
6-0 |
210 |
Prior Lake (Minnesota) H.S. |
| Andrew Onyepunuka |
LB |
6-1 |
210 |
Brophy Prep (Phoenix) H.S. |
| Stone Snyder |
LB |
6-3 |
225 |
Monacan (Virginia) H.S. |
| Alex Austin |
CB |
6-1 |
175 |
Long Beach Poly (California) H.S. |
| Matthew Horne |
CB |
6-2 |
190 |
Elk Grove (California) H.S. |
| Shyheim Battle |
CB |
6-2 |
185 |
Rocky Mount (North Carolina) H.S. |
| Dorian Davis |
CB |
6-0 |
185 |
Shelby (North Carolina) H.S. |
| Cameron Browning |
CB |
5-10 |
180 |
Butler (Indiana) University |
| Darius Waddell |
S |
6-1 |
175 |
Eastern Illinois University |
| Isaac Gilliam |
S |
6-1 |
200 |
Phoenix College |
| Marques White |
S |
6-2 |
205 |
Brophy Prep (Phoenix) H.S. |
| William Savala |
S |
6-2 |
185 |
Dallas Carter H.S. |
| Grant Becker |
K/P |
5-11 |
175 |
Oklahoma State University |