Coach brings Marble Falls offense to Team Japan for International Bowl

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

ARLINGTON — Marble Falls High School assistant football coach Ryan Priem is taking the Mustangs’ offensive scheme to an international level.

He is spending Jan. 11-16 teaching Team Japan the Marble Falls spread offense after accepting a special appointment from USA Football as the international squad’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The team is participating in International Bowl VIII at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, on Jan. 16-17. Along with Japan, teams from the United States and Canada are also playing in a series of eight games.

“It’s an honor,” he said. “When I was contacted last year, it was for a development team.”

This is Priem’s second year working with USA Football. Last year, he was the offensive coordinator for one of Team USA’s 13-year-old squads.

That team set the record for the most points scored in an international bowl game by beating another Team USA squad 54-34.

Priem began his 2017 assignment Jan. 11 when he met the 16-year-old players on Team Japan in Arlington. They’ll have seven practices and a scrimmage before taking on Team USA on Jan. 16.

“I’ve been given free rein to install, basically, the offense from Marble Falls,” he said.

Before he came to Marble Falls in 2016 as the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Priem worked with Mustangs head coach and athletics director Matt Green as an assistant coach at Lake Travis and Lucas Lovejoy.

“Our administration is athletics-minded,” Green said. “It’s an honor and neat opportunity for one of our coaches to represent Team USA and Team Japan.”

Once Marble Falls Independent School District, Green, and Priem’s wife were onboard with the project, Priem contacted the Team Japan coaches and requested the team’s roster, which he said is filled with Tokyo’s all-stars.

He compiled a playbook and sent it to the team. The playbook contains plays Priem believes the Japanese players can run.

“I asked the question, ‘What are they used to?’” he said. “I was told it’s a spread-type of offense. We do have a couple of tight ends, fullbacks, and wide receivers to build the playbook around. We’ll adapt to what we do on offense to our personnel.”

The coach said he’ll know more by Jan. 12 after seeing three practices.

As for the language barrier, Team Japan has two translators. One is a former NFL Europe player familiar with spread concepts, Priem said.

This experience, Priem said, will help him grow as a coach because he is forced out of his comfort zone.

“It helps me learn, being put in a different situation from a language barrier and knowledge of players,” he said. “I look at this as a challenge to relate to these kids. It helps me stay competitive.”

While Priem is honored to be chosen by USA Football to help Team Japan, don’t think the American will take it easy on his countrymen.

“It’s an honor to be selected and chosen, and I take a lot of pride in doing it,” he said, “but on Monday, I’ll try to beat Team USA.”

You can livestream the games with your provider log-in on ESPN3 at espn.com/watchespn.

jfierro@thepicayune.com