Da'Shawn Thomas selected to U.S. National Team for 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship

2011-06-22T02:20:33Z

NEWPORT, AR (KAIT) - Thirty-nine former college football standouts will play for the 2011 U.S. Men's National Team in the fourth International Federation of American Football Senior World Championship.

One of the 39 was born in northeast Arkansas and carries a unique story along with pigskin talent.

Da'Shawn Thomas was born in Newport in 1987, but grew up in Georgia. He played with a semi-pro team in 2007, rushing for 1,200 yards. The performance caught the attention of CFL scouts. The Toronto Argonauts signed him to the practice roster in 2008 and was released in 2009. Thomas enrolled at the University of Western Ontario and played for the Mustangs.

Two SEMO alums are also on the World Championship roster. Dierks native Ben McLaughlin will also play on the national team. The tournament will be played July 8th-16th in Austria.

U.S. Men's National Team roster:

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	College	Hometown
30	Maurice Banks	DB	6-3	212	Georgetown	Brandywine, Md.
5	Matt Bassuener	QB	6-2	210	Georgetown	Port Edwards, Wisc.
91	Charles Bay	DE	6-3	250	Dartmouth	Marietta, Ga.
17	Gregg Berkshire	K-P	6-2	201	Ashland (Ohio)	Ashland, Ohio
3	Greg Betterson	WR	6-0	185	Delta State (Miss.)	Niagara Falls, N.Y.
40	Richie Brockel	FB	6-1	250	Boise State	Phoenix, Ariz.
51	Gerard Bryant	DL	6-0	250	St. Lawrence (N.Y.)	White Plains, N.Y.
9	Myles Burnsides	DB	5-11	194	Northwest Missouri St.	Maryville, Mo.
99	Daniel Calvin	DT	6-3	317	Kansas State	Bakersfield, Calif.
55	Daniel Catalano	DE	6-4	265	Northern Michigan	Belle Mead, N.J.
93	Wacey Coleman	DL	6-2	245	Black Hills State	Rozet, Wyo.
92	Johnny Dingle	DL	6-3	270	West Virginia	Miami, Fla.
42	Demetrius Eaton	LB	6-2	250	Northwestern	Milwaukee, Wis.
27	Jeff Franklin	CB	5-8	185	Central State (Ohio)	Fairborn, Ohio
32	Henry Harris	RB	5-8	185	Southeast Missouri State	Memphis, Tenn.
7	Cody Hawkins	QB	5-11	190	Colorado	Boise, Idaho
43	Terrence Jackson	LB	5-11	235	Indiana-Pennsylvania	Media, Pa.
56	John Jacobs	LB	6-2	230	Saginaw (Mich.) Valley State	Prudenville, Mich.
58	Brandon Jordan	OL	6-4	315	Missouri S&T	New Orleans, La.
1	Nate Kmic	RB	5-9	195	Mount Union (Ohio)	Delta, Ohio
72	Frank Knights	OL	6-1	300	Southeast Missouri State	Aptos, Calif.
65	Josh Koeppel	OL	6-2	273	Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa
21	Jordan Lake	S	6-1	215	Baylor	Houston, Texas
2	Ricardo Lenhart	WR	6-3	190	Otterbein	Sidney, Ohio
12	DeWayne Lewis	CB	5-11	190	Southern Utah	Denver, Colo.
20	Taylor Malm	WR	5-9	192	Northwestern (Iowa)	Thousand Oaks, Calif.
13	Ben McLaughlin	QB	6-3	205	Louisiana College	Dierks, Ark.
6	Lane Olson	LB	5-10	210	Wisconsin-Whitewater	Racine, Wis.
24	Osayi Osunde	LB	6-1	245	Villanova	Bloomsburg, Pa.
88	Mike Peterson	TE	6-2	245	Northwest Missouri State	Atlantic, Iowa
33	Joe Sturdivant	S	6-2	210	SMU	Lilburn, Ga.
70	Luke Summers	OL	6-4	290	Mount Union (Ohio)	New Middletown, Ohio
25	Da'Shawn Thomas	RB	5-11	205	Univ. of Western Ontario	Newport, Ark.
23	Daniel Tromello	DB	6-0	200	Occidental	Newbury Park, Calif.
22	Stephan Virgil	CB	5-11	190	Virginia Tech	Rocky Mount, N.C.
77	Dane Warderburg	OL	6-7	290	Northwest Missouri State	Creston, Iowa
44	Zach Watkins	LB	6-0	232	Washburn (Kan.)	Independence, Mo.
8	Korey Williams	WR	6-0	185	Northwestern Oklahoma St.	New Orleans, La.
54	Cameron Zipp	OL	6-1	278	Southern Mississippi	Mandeville, La.

Da'Shawn Thomas selected to U.S. National Team for 2011 IFAF Sen - KAIT Jonesboro, AR - Region 8 News, weather, sports

Da'Shawn Thomas selected to U.S. National Team for 2011 IFAF Senior World Championship