July 9, 2007

VIENNA, VA. -- Former North Carolina defensive tackle Shelton Bynum has been selected to play for the USA Football team, which will compete for the 2007 World Championship of American Football in July. It will mark the first time that the United States will play in this international event.

The six-country tournament will be held July 7-15 in Kawasaki, Japan. This year's event is the third staged by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

Team USA will face Germany and Korea in pool play. USA will compete in its first game of the tournament against Korea on July 10. It will play Germany in the second game on July 12. Both games will take place at Kawasaki Stadium.The other pool will consist of host and two-time defending champion Japan along with Sweden and France.

Bynum played in 45 career games and made 22 starts, including all 12 games as a senior in 2006. He had his best season as a senior with 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for losses and 3.0 sacks.

The 45 players selected were chosen from a pool of 2006 college seniors and represent all levels of college football. NCAA and NAIA schools were asked by USA Football to nominate up to two seniors during the season. That list was pared down by the Team USA coaching staff through film evaluation.

2007 United States National Team
Wide Receiver: Greg Aker, Minnesota-Duluth; Bobby Awrey, Saginaw Valley State; Jon Drenckhahn, Williams; Marcus Lewis, North Alabama Steve Odom, Toledo Tight End: D'Monn Baker, California (Pa.); Brian Thompson, Michigan Offensive Line: Alex Atkins, Tennessee-Martin; Marcel Burrough, San Jose State; Rick Drushal, Wooster; Kris King, Gardner-Webb; David Livengood, Indiana (Pa.); Chris Lundin, Adams State; Matt Padron; Texas State; Brad Poston, Coastal Carolina; Shawn Robinson, Morningside Runningback: Doug Blakowski, Hobart; Cody Childs, Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Kyle Kasperbauer, Nebraska-Omaha; Wendell Johnson, Fairmont State Quarterback: Adam Austin, Arizona; Jeff Ballard, TCU; Rocky Pentello, Capital Defensive Line: Dustin Allen, Trinity (Texas); Shelton Bynum, North Carolina; Dustin Dlouhy, Montana; Ryan Kleppe, Wisconsin-Whitewater; Matt Ludeman, Western Michigan; Shawn Moorehead, Iowa State; Chris Thorner, Syracuse; Jeremy Van Alstyne, Michigan Linebacker: Dan Adams, Holy Cross; Demetrius Eaton, Northwestern; Adam Paulson, Sioux Falls; Ryan Tully, Harvard; Brig Walker, Princeton Secondary: Manauris Arias, Maine; Diezeas Calbert, Northwest Missouri State; Kenny Chicoine, Cal Poly; Jason Hoffschneider, North Dakota; Josh Kubiak, Mary Hardin-Baylor; Rob Rodriguez, Christopher Newport; Steve Teeples, Wisconsin-La Crosse; Cary Wade, Virginia Tech Kicker: Craig Coffin, Southern Illinois

Team USA trained at San Jose State University on July 3 and departed for Japan on July 4.

USA Football is a non-profit organization leading the development and growth of youth, high school and international amateur football. In its role as the national governing body, USA Football provides programs and resources to inspire participation and improve the quality of the sport. USA Football was endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association in 2002.

For more information, log on to www.usafootball.com.