AUSTIN, Texas — Wyatt Teller thoroughly enjoyed getting to know many of the World Team players at Wednesday's welcome dinner.
Teller, a big (6-foot-4, 264-pound), fun defensive lineman from
Liberty (Bealeton, Va.), was the life of the party hanging out with new friends from all over the world.
Wyatt Teller, USA Football
Courtesy USA Football
But come Tuesday, he said, when the U.S. Under-19 team takes on the World in the fourth annual International Bowl at Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex, Teller plans to turn a different color. It will be some shade of angry, fiery red, though the U.S. team will be wearing white.
The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
"As soon as I see yellow (the World team's color), I'm going to be disgusted," Teller said. "Listen, I don't carry a personal grudge against any of those guys, but anybody who does anything against the U.S., even if it's football, then I have a problem with that."
What the World team did, simply, was beat the U.S. in last year's International Bowl. Also, team Canada knocked off the U.S. team last summer in the World Championships.
Teller said it's time for the U.S. to take back "what's rightfully ours."
"It's really cool to represent our country and the guys on the team are really cool and I'm having a great time," Teller said. "But we all have one common reason we're here and that's to show the world this is our sport."
It wasn't clear if Teller mean The World team or simply the world.
No matter, Teller is indeed passionate about his U.S.A. allegiance. His father served as a reserve for both the Marines and U.S. Army.
"He fought for our country and instilled in me that America is first and we should fight also against anyone who strongly disagrees with our beliefs," he said.
Strong stuff and Teller by all accounts is a strong guy as he proved at Liberty, where he had a hefty 123 tackles, including 18 for losses, including 11 sacks. He forces four fumbles.
He'll play either defensive tackle or end for Virginia Tech, where he said he is 100 percent committed.
He and all but three of the 46 U.S. players will sign their letters of intent at a National Signing Day Breakfast in Austin on Wednesday. Teller, who also visited Virginia, said he can't wait to sign.
"It's absolutely 100 percent the right choice for me," Teller said. It will be great to play for the two greatest minds in college football (Frank Beamer and Bud Foster). They turned around a program that was at the bottom and brought it up to Top 25 every year."
Teller said he was thrilled to be a part of the U.S. team but he did feel a little guilty leaving his basketball team behind.
For the first time in high school, he decided to play the game he starred in middle school at, figuring it was his last opportunity to compete.
"I played in middle school," he sad. "But I figured it was my last shot plus it keeps me in good shape. I can run around and get some energy out."
Talking to the vivacious Teller, that seems like a must. It does have it's drawbacks.
"Every time I bump into someone (on the basketball court), they seem to fall to the floor and I get a foul," he said.
He hopes to knock a lot of bodies down come Tuesday.
See the USA team roster and more on the International Bowl and USA Football.
