SaberCats begin camp Sunday
February 1, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Feb. 1, 2007) - The two-time ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats open training camp in preparation for their 13th season in the Arena Football League on Sunday, February 4, at the team's practice facility in Sunnyvale.
All 37 rostered players will report to the team on Friday, Feb. 2, with a single on-field practice taking place the morning of Super Bowl Sunday. The SaberCats will host the Grand Rapids Rampage in a joint practice session on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and the teams will conduct a scrimmage game at the Stockton Arena on Thursday, Feb. 15.
Training camp concludes on Friday, Feb. 23 and the team must submit its 24-man regular season roster to the AFL office on Saturday, Feb. 24.
The SaberCats open the 2007 season at Los Angeles on Sunday, Mar. 4 with a 7:00 p.m. game against the Avengers. San Jose's home opener is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 31 against five-time ArenaBowl Champion Tampa Bay.
CAMP PRACTICE SCHEDULE
All practice sessions are open to the media and public. Times are subject to change. In the event of inclement weather practice sites may vary. Contact the SaberCats media relations department for up-to-date practice information (408) 573-5587. Players and coaches will be made available for interviews at the conclusion of each practice session
Week One Practice Schedule
Sun., Feb. 4 9:00 am - 10:45 am
Mon., Feb. 5 9:00 am - 10:45 am 3:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Tue., Feb. 6 9:00 am - 10:45 am 3:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Wed., Feb. 7 9:00 am - 10:45 am
Thu., Feb. 8 9:00 am - 10:45 am 3:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Fri., Feb. 9 9:00 am - 10:45 am 3:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Sat., Feb. 10 OFF DAY
NEW RULES IMPACT ROSTER
The league's new free substitution rule will allow for more specialized play and will reduce the number of 'Ironmen' on each team. As a result, the SaberCats have 17 rookies on their 37-man camp roster. "The new rules change what type of player you want in your system," said SaberCats Head Coach and General Manager Darren Arbet.
THE ROSTER
Along with 17 rookies and eight players with one year of AFL experience on the camp roster, the SaberCats also return some key components from their 2006 Western Division champion team. Quarterback Mark Grieb, who set a league record with 4,841 passing yards last season, is back for his ninth season in a SaberCats uniform, and the club's all-time receiving leader, James Roe, also returns. Rookie of the Year Ben Nelson will try to duplicate his success from a season ago and offensive linemen Dan Loney, Rex Richards and Julius Gant are all back for another season.
Two-time Defensive Player of the Year Clevan Thomas and Omarr Smith, two of the top defensive backs in AFL history, are also back.
Updated bios on all 37 players on the training camp roster can be viewed on the team's official website www.sanjosesabercats.com.
2007 SaberCats Training Camp Roster
# Name Pos Ht Wt DOB College Exp
1 Burl Toler WR 6-2 196 04/07/83 UC Berkeley R
2 Scott Rislov QB 6-1 222 06/29/80 San Jose State 1
3 Jason Geathers WR 6-2 202 09/08/80 Miami (Fla.) 1
4 Trestin George DB 5-9 190 08/24/83 San Jose State R
5 Craig Whelihan QB 6-5 230 04/15/71 Pacific 5
6 Rufus Brown DB 5-9 192 07/18/80 Florida State 0
7 Rufus Skillern WR 6-1 192 05/12/82 San Jose State R
8 Clevan Thomas DB 5-10 195 04/06/79 Florida State 5
9 James Roe WR 6-1 197 08/23/73 Norfolk State 7
11 A.J. Haglund K 5-7 175 07/24/83 Central Oklahoma R
14 Omarr Smith DB 5-9 186 04/07/77 San Jose State 7
15 Cleannord Saintil WR 6-0 190 02/11/84 Middle Tennessee St. R
16 Mark Grieb QB 6-2 215 05/23/74 UC Davis 9
17 Rodney Wright WR/DB 5-9 181 11/28/79 Fresno State 2
19 Marquis Floyd WR/DB 6-2 192 03/17/80 West Georgia 1
23 Ronald Jones DL 6-3 283 09/17/81 Southern Mississippi 1
25 Matt Kinsinger FB 6-1 262 03/16/77 Slippery Rock 6
27 Brian Johnson FB 6-2 280 04/06/79 New Mexico 3
31 Phil Glover LB 6-0 265 12/17/75 Utah 4
34 Steve Watson LB 6-3 250 04/09/82 SW Missouri State R
37 Shawn Willis FB 6-2 286 01/28/83 Oklahoma State R
42 Daniel Garay LB 6-2 255 03/01/83 Hofstra R
47 Chris Solomona DL 6-5 295 09/03/82 Oregon R
50 Todd Williams OL 6-5 325 09/04/78 Florida State R
55 Tyler Moore OL 6-6 302 01/06/82 Purdue R
66 Michael Moore OL 6-3 308 11/01/76 Troy R
67 Julius Gant OL 6-4 314 01/14/82 Middle Tennessee St. 1
79 Rex Richards OL 6-4 315 10/17/80 Texas Tech 2
80 Ben Nelson WR 6-3 191 08/21/79 St. Cloud State 1
87 William Obeng OL 6-7 335 04/14/83 San Jose State R
91 Dan Loney OL 6-1 292 12/07/77 Cal Poly (SLO) 5
92 Jeff Littlejohn DL 6-2 313 02/14/83 Middle Tennessee St. R
93 Barrett Allen DL 6-2 250 10/21/77 Abilene Christian R
94 Ron Warner DL 6-3 270 09/26/75 Kansas R
95 Kyle Rasmussen OL 6-4 315 03/21/81 Michigan State 1
97 George Williams DL 6-4 314 12/08/75 North Carolina State 5
98 Alan Harper DL 6-2 291 09/06/79 Fresno State 1
HEAD COACH DARREN ARBET
Closing in on 100 career victories, Darren Arbet returns for his ninth season as head coach of the SaberCats. Arbet guided the SaberCats to their seventh straight winning season and playoff appearance by going 10-6 last season, the sixth time in his eight seasons the team has posted a double-digit regular season win total. The team also captured its fifth Western Division title under Arbet (sixth overall) and advanced to the semifinal round of the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Arbet enters the 2007 campaign with 93 career wins, the fifth-most in AFL history, and his .689 overall winning percentage is the third-highest among coaches who have been involved in at least 25 games.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
The SaberCats have 11 players on their 37-man roster that played collegiately in the state of California, including five San Jose State alums. Former Spartans QB Scott Rislov, DB Trestin George, WR Rufus Skillern and OL William Obeng were all teammates at SJSU during the 2003 season. Omarr Smith, the other Spartan, enters his eighth AFL season in 2007. WR Burl Toler (Cal), QB Craig Whelihan (Pacific), QB Mark Grieb (UC Davis), WR/DB Rodney Wright (Fresno State), OL Dan Loney (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo) and DL Alan Harper (Fresno State) are the other Golden Staters.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season and group tickets for the 2007 season are available by contacting a sales representative at (408) 573-5577. Individual game tickets ranging from $17 to $52 are on sale and can be purchased through any Northern California Ticketmaster outlet, online at ticketmaster.com or the HP Pavilion box office.
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