“There’s a couple of positions where we don’t know what decision were going to make, so we have a couple of days here for players to step it up and show us what they can do if they want to make this football team,” said Coach Arbet.

 

Opening the season against the San Antonio Talons in the Alamo Dome, the SaberCats will be facing a longtime rival and a lot of familiar faces.

 

Among the former SaberCats who are currently on the Talons roster is last season’s AFL sack leader Joe Sykes, as well as last season’s team leader in interceptions, Andre Jones. Some other familiar faces to the SaberCats are defensive back Kelvin Rogers and defensive lineman Tim McGill.

 

The SaberCats have also picked up their share of former Talons as they have acquired veteran quarterback Aaron Garcia, receiver Jason Willis, and defensive back Ken Fontenette.

 

Entering his 18^th season as a quarterback, Garcia will be taking over Mark Grieb’s role on the SaberCats. After 12 very successful seasons and three ArenaBowl Championships, Grieb set a lot of high standards for Garcia.

 

When asked about the acclimation to his new team, Garcia stated, “It’s always tough, as far as making that transition. Especially here a place that has been so established, they’ve had a great quarterback for years and they’ve had a great offense. So I’m coming in, trying to bring my personality and the things that I do well to add to what they’ve done here and hopefully it’ll be a good combination.”

 

Coach Arbet and Garcia have a lot of familiarity with each other as their time at Sacramento State University overlapped in the early 90’s. 

 

“I’ve known Aaron a long time, he’s a pro, he’s a future hall of famer, guys respect him, and he’s a big time leader,” said Coach Arbet.

 

Garcia is looking forward to playing in front of his home crowd. “I have a big family that would love to come down here and actually not be rooting against the SaberCats for the first time, but instead having everyone be in green and cheering for the ‘Cats,” said Garcia.

 

Garcia’s go-to receiver from the San Antonio Talons, Jason Willis, will also be making his SaberCats debut this season.

 

“The SaberCats have a lot of history and everything is really organized, it’s definitely a professional team.  I like the way Arbet is running things and it’s going smooth.  We’re ready to get this show on the road,” said Willis about his transition to his new team.

 

This will be the fourth team that the dynamic duo of Garcia and Willis have played for together over their time spent in the AFL as they’ve both been on the New York Dragons, Jacksonville Sharks, and San Antonio Talons.

 

“Jason and I have a good relationship; it’s kind of a fun relationship. We mess with each other a lot, but on the field I know where he’s going to be, what he’s going to do. His talents are incredible,” said Garcia.

 

“I think the coaches here and the organization have been really impressed with not only his talent but his work ethic. He’s a veteran, he’s been playing for a long time too, so for him to keep doing this and come with me is something I really appreciate.”

 

Willis feels the exact same about Garcia stating, “He knows before I even break where to throw the ball, for the most part he always knows where I’m going to be. It’s just a great chemistry. It’s coming along and we expect that when we get on the field, it’ll be the same as always.”

 

Garcia is looking forward to playing with many talented players acquired on the SaberCats offense.

 

“The receivers are very dynamic. We’ve got some big, tall, fast receivers. So really a lot of weapons and on the offensive line we’ve got a lot of great guys. It’s just really a matter of all of us gelling together, learning how to work with each other. But we have all the tools, so there are really no excuses for us,” said Garcia.

 

With a lot of weapons and experience on offense, it’s just a matter of finding a rhythm early in the season. Playing the Talons week one in the Alamo Dome will be a great test for Garcia to overcome.

 

The SaberCats defense also have a lot of talent that Coach Arbet is excited about.  “Francis Maka made second team all-league last year, I think he’s starting to come into his own. This is his third year in the league and I think he really understands that position now. Jason Stewart at nose guard is an old vet who’s going to be starting this year. I really like what he can do.”

 

“With Clevan Thomas coming back we feel good about our defensive backs, we’re young on the defensive line, but they’re very talented. So it’ll be interesting to see how they play that first game,” said Arbet.

Leanne is a freelance sports journalist residing in the San Francisco Bay Area as she finishes up her Mass Communication, Media Production B.A. at Cal State University, East Bay. This will be her second season as a correspondent covering the San Jose SaberCats.