Ted Marchibroda to Lead Team Blur and Sam Wyche to Head Team Nitro; Game Live on ESPN

Former NFL head coaches Ted Marchibroda and Sam Wyche will lead the nation’s top high school seniors in the 2010 Under Armour All-America High School Football Game. The third annual game will take place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 11 a.m. ET, and will be televised live on ESPN. Marchibroda will serve as head coach of Team Blur (white jersey), while Wyche will coach Team Nitro (black jersey). Both coaching staffs, selected by ESPN Scouts, Inc., will consist of former NFL coaches acting as offensive and defensive coordinators, with support from 19 high school coaches who have players participating in the game. The rosters will feature the nation’s top high school football prospects, according to the ESPNU 150 player rankings. 

Marchibroda is a former quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals). He also served as head coach of the Baltimore Colts (now the Indianapolis Colts) and was the first head coach of the Baltimore Ravens (1996-98). Also, he was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams (now St. Louis Rams) and Washington Redskins, as well as the Buffalo Bills during their Super Bowl appearances in 1990 and 1991. He will be assisted by Dave Levy on offense and Rex Norris on defense. Levy won four national titles on staff with USC and coached in eight Rose Bowls. He also coached in the NFL with San Diego and Detroit. Norris has more than 30 years of experience, including coaching in college at Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. He also spent 12 years coaching in the NFL. 

The inventor of the no-huddle offense, Wyche is the former head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals (1984-91), a team he led to the Super Bowl in 1988 on his way to earning NFL Coach of the Year honors. He also served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1992-95. Wyche began his coaching career with the San Francisco 49ers with legendary coach Bill Walsh. He directed the 49ers’ passing game including Joe Montana from 1979-82. Wyche’s coordinators will be Larry Kennan on offense and George Dyer on defense. Kennan is the executive director of the NFL Coaches Association. Kennan had several NFL coaching stops, including quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Raiders (1983-87); offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks (1992-94) and offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Dyer has more than 20 years’ experience coaching defensive lines in the NFL (Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams) and also coached at Arizona State and Michigan State.

Three-time NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year Joe Avezzano will serve as special teams coach for both teams. The individual position coaches will be high school head coaches who have players in the Jan. 2 game. Each coach will be responsible for his respective position of expertise and will help coach the team that includes his player.

The coaches and players will also participate in several activities surrounding the game, including daily practice sessions that will be televised live on ESPNU on Wednesday, Dec. 30 and Thursday, Dec. 31, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and the Burger King Skills Challenge on Friday, Jan. 1, at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.

Of the more than 80 players selected by ESPN Scouts, Inc., to participate in the Under Armour All-America High School Football Game, several are ranked among the ESPNU 150: No. 2 Jordan Hicks, OLB Lakota West (Ohio); No. 5 Lamarcus Joyner, CB, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.); No. 6 Jeff Luc, ILB, Treasure Coast (Fla.); No. 7 Michael Dyer, RB, Little Rock Christian (Ark.); No. 9 Darius White, WR, Dunbar (Texas); No. 11 Demar Dorsey, S, Boyd Anderson (Fla.); No. 12 Chris Dunkley, WR, Pahokee (Fla.); No. 14 Taylor Bible, DT, Guyer (Texas); No. 17 Mack Brown, RB, Martin Luther King (Ga.); No. 18 DeMarco Cobbs, ATH, Tulsa Central (Okla.); No. 19 Jordan James, RB, Corona (Calif.) and No. 20 DeMarcus Milliner, CB, Stanhope Elmore (Ala.). Team Blur and Team Nitro rosters will be unveiled on the ESPNU Under Armour Selection Show Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 PM.

TICKETS: Tickets for the game are available for $10 through www.Ticketmaster.com.

About the Game

The Under Armour High School All-America Football Game, an annual all-star football competition spotlighting the nation’s top high school seniors, debuted on Jan. 5, 2008, on ABC, at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Organized in conjunction with Intersport, a leading sports and entertainment media and marketing company with over 20 years experience, the event will be televised live to a national audience on ESPN from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.   Some notable alumni of the game include USC’s Matt Barkley, Georgia’s A.J. Green and Alabama’s Julio Jones. 

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