Forty-five (45) top U.S. high school football players have been selected to play on the 2012 U.S. Under-19 National Team, assembled by USA Football.

The team will compete in the 2012 IFAF Under-19 World Championship on June 30 to July 7 at Burger Stadium in Austin, Texas. The eight-nation tournament is conducted by the International Federation of American Football. Players and coaches will live at the University of Texas in Olympic Village-style accommodations. IFAF is composed of 62 nations spanning six continents that possess a national federation dedicated solely to American football.

The U.S. Under-19 National Team, comprised of high school athletes representing 20 states, will compete against national teams from American Samoa, Austria, Canada, France, Japan, Panama and Sweden. The United States won the inaugural IFAF Under-19 World Championship in 2009 in Canton, Ohio, earning the No. 1 seed this summer. The Americans open against No. 8 seed American Samoa at 8 p.m. CT June 30.

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 77-19 (.802) since becoming the head coach at his alma mater following the 2003 season. He also was the defensive coordinator on the 2009 U.S. Under-19 National Team.

U.S. coaches are scheduled to arrive in Austin on Thursday, June 21, with players arriving the next day. Team USA will hold a weeklong training camp starting Saturday, June 23, at Burger Stadium. Here is the game schedule:

Saturday, June 30 (all games at Burger Stadium)

9 a.m. No. 4 Panama vs. No. 5 Austria 11:30 a.m. No. 3 Japan vs. No. 6 France 5 p.m. No. 2 Canada vs. No. 7 Sweden 8 p.m. No. 1 United States vs. No. 8 American Samoa

Tuesday, July 3

5 p.m. JPN/FRA losing team vs. CAN/SWE losing team 8 p.m. PAN/AUT losing team vs. USA/AMS losing team

Wednesday, July 4

5 p.m. JPN/FRA winner vs. CAN/SWE winner 8 p.m. PAN/AUT winner vs. USA/AMS winner

Friday, July 6

5 p.m. Seventh-place game 8 p.m. Fifth-place game

Saturday, July 7

5 p.m. Bronze Medal Game 8 p.m. Gold Medal Game

A welcome dinner for members of all eight national teams is Friday, June 29, at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Lounge, where players and coaches will sit by position groups alongside members of opposing teams.

A national team exemption granted by the NCAA allows high school seniors to play for USA Football and not have their participation count among their two permitted all-star game appearances. The IFAF Under-19 World Championship is recognized as a national team competition.

The Under-19 World Championship is part of the World Football Festival being held June 28 to July 12 throughout Austin. More than 2,000 players and coaches from around the world will gather to celebrate America’s favorite sport in competition, development and cultural exchange. Other events during the World Football Festival include:

Under-15 International Development Week , June 29 to July 5, Whitaker Fields and Burger Stadium

, June 29 to July 5, Whitaker Fields and Burger Stadium NFL FLAG powered by USA Football Regional Tournament , June 30 and July 1, Whitaker Fields

, June 30 and July 1, Whitaker Fields USA Football 7-on-7 Tournament , June 30, Ellie Noack Field Sports Complex and Burger Stadium

, June 30, Ellie Noack Field Sports Complex and Burger Stadium Under-17 International Development Week , July 5-12, Whitaker Field and Burger Stadium

, July 5-12, Whitaker Field and Burger Stadium U.S. Under-19 National Team Trials, July 5-8, Ellie Noack Field Sports Complex and Burger Stadium

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 NFL Players Association.

U.S. Under-19 National Team roster:

No Name Ht Wt Pos Hometown High school College 1 Darrius Sims 5-10 170 DB Southaven, Miss. Whitehaven Undecided 2 Jesus Wilson 5-10 170 WR Homestead, Fla. Christopher Columbus Undecided 3 Cameron Walker 5-10 180 DB Los Angeles, Calif. Loyola Undecided 4 Tyler Willis 5-11 190 DB Indianapolis, Ind. Cathedral Indianapolis 5 Rashad Kinlaw 6-2 180 WR Galloway, N.J. Absegami Notre Dame-* 6 Dajuan Drennon 6-3 230 DE Clementon, N.J. Timber Creek Undecided 7 Rodney Adams 6-1 170 WR St. Petersburg, Fla. Lakewood Florida-* 8 Desmond Wyatt 5-11 170 WR Austin, Texas Westwood Undecided 9 Dashon Hunt 5-10 175 DB Simi Valley, Calif. Westlake UCLA-* 10 Tarean Folston 5-9 185 RB Rockledge, Fla. Cocoa Undecided 11 Brayden Scott 6-3 200 QB Tulsa, Okla. Tahlequah-Sequoyah Undecided 13 Reggie Chevis 6-2 238 LB Houston, Texas Sharpstown Undecided 15 Trent Hosick 6-2 223 QB Kansas City, Mo. Staley Missouri-* 16 Demarcus Ayers 5-10 165 WR Lancaster, Texas Lancaster Washington St.-* 17 Malique Belfort 6-4 175 WR Staten Island, N.Y. Tottenville Undecided 18 Isaac McDonald 6-5 210 LB Hialeah, Fla. Champagnat Catholic Clemson-* 19 Samuel Douglas 6-2 180 LB Arlington, Texas Arlington TCU-* 20 Lorenzo Woodley 6-0 210 RB Miami, Fla. Christopher Columbus Undecided 21 Kight Dallas 6-2 220 DE-LB Lithonia, Ga. Arabia Mountain South Carolina-* 22 Chase Abbington 6-4 210 LB St. Peters, Mo. Fort Zumwalt South Missouri-* 23 Darius Mosley 5-11 175 DB O’Fallon, Ill. O’Fallon Undecided 24 Conor Hundley 5-9 185 RB Cincinnati, Ohio St. Xavier Akron 25 Khari Harding 6-1 205 LB Edmond, Okla. Santa Fe Arkansas-* 26 Malik Rucker 6-0 175 DB Minneapolis, Minn. Robbinsdale Cooper Undecided 28 Eric Beisel 6-4 235 LB Fenton, Mo. Rockwood Summit Undecided 29 Cameron Vanwinkle 5-11 165 K-P Fall City, Wash. Mount Si Washington-* 32 Reggie Spearman 6-2 210 LB Burnham, Ill. Simeon Undecided 40 Daeshon Hall 6-6 235 DE Lancaster, Texas Lancaster Texas-* 41 JustinBridges-Thompson 6-2 200 LB Spartanburg, S.C. Spartanburg Undecided 43 Lance Duran 6-0 215 LB Austin, Texas Westlake Blinn 44 Dakota Jackson 6-3 250 TE Roanoke, Va. Northside Virginia Tech 54 Cory Jasudowich 6-2 235 LB North Branford, Conn. Cheshire Undecided 62 Bobby Billingsley 6-2 273 OL Memphis, Tenn. Memphis East Undecided 63 Alec Abeln 6-4 275 OL St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis University H.S. Missouri-* 66 Phil Clay 6-3 275 OL Plainfield, Ind. Plainfield Undecided 68 Austin Bland 6-3 275 OL Weston, Fla. St. Thomas Aquinas Undecided 70 Hunter Bivin 6-7 288 OL Owensboro, Ky. Apollo Notre Dame-* 72 Logan Tuley-Tillman 6-7 321 OL Peoria, Ill. Manual Michigan-* 77 Ethan Pocic 6-7 285 OL Lemont, Ill. Lemont Undecided 78 Logan Stott 6-3 300 OL St. George, Utah Pine View Arizona-* 79 Jack Kurzu 6-4 305 OL St. Louis, Mo. MICDS Oklahoma St.-* 81 Tyler Provo 6-3 240 TE West Palm Beach, Fla. American Heritage Syracuse-* 88 Durham Smythe 6-6 230 TE Belton, Texas Belton Texas-* 98 Jacob Hyde 6-2 338 DT Manchester, Ky. Clay County Kentucky-* 99 Herbert Moore 6-1 335 DT Memphis, Tenn. Memphis East Mississippi-* *-Verbal commitment

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

Name Hometown High school Position Steve Specht Cincinnati, Ohio St. Xavier Head coach Chris Merritt Miami, Fla. Christopher Columbus Offensive coordinator Rick Streiff Indianapolis, Ind. Cathedral Defensive coordinator Tom Bolden Cincinnati, Ohio Colerain Offensive line Gabe Infante Philadelphia, Pa. St. Joseph’s Defensive line Ken Lucas Annapolis, Md. Annapolis Area Christian Secondary Greg McCaig Houston, Texas Cypress Creek Tight ends, special teams Cory Moore St. Petersburg, Fla. Lakewood Linebackers Charlie Ward Houston, Texas Westbury Christian Wide receivers L.D. Williams Austin, Texas Westwood Offensive line

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

About USA Football: USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, hosts more than 100 football training events annually offering education for coaches, skill development for players and resources for youth football league commissioners. The independent nonprofit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFL Players Association. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and provides more than $1 million annually in equipment grants and youth league volunteer background check subsidies. Endowed by the NFL and NFLPA in 2002 through the NFL Youth Football Fund, USA Football (www.usafootball.com) is chaired by former NFL team executive Carl Peterson.