By Kyle Goon

| The Salt Lake Tribune

When Utah Blaze training camp begins Saturday night, coach Ron James will be feeling a little more settled than he was last year.

The team has gone through plenty of changes this offseason with new coaches, new personnel, and James himself has taken on another role as team president. But unlike the nervousness he felt after last season’s total overhaul, James has found a sense of calm as the Blaze bring back a lot of familiar faces.

At a glance

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Utah Blaze prepare for 2012 campaign

Season opener » March 10, at San Antonio Talons

Home opener » March 24, vs. San Jose Sabercats

Key returners » QB Tommy Grady, WR Aaron Lesue, DL Caesar Rayford

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"We feel more confident about this team’s returning nucleus," he said. "You don’t have to worry about how quickly guys pick up the dynamic."

Utah is looking to get running quickly this year after a 9-9 season that was a success, but still not good enough. The Blaze got out of the basement of the Arena Football League and set a franchise record in wins, but still couldn’t snag a playoff berth as injuries decimated the team.

This season, there aren’t many excuses if things go south. The team brings back star quarterback Tommy Grady, who was on a record-setting offensive pace before he suffered a season-ending rib injury last year. Utah’s now-healthy passer will have four returning receivers to catch his passes: Aaron Lesue, Alvance Robinson, Ernie Pierce and Chris Bocage.

Fullback Ben Stallings and center Antonio Narcisse also return, but the team will be looking for new linemen to step up in camp. One of the Blaze’s goals is to run the ball more effectively — an area new offensive line coach Ron McBride will address.

"We’re looking to get more push up front, and it’s important to be strong in the middle," James said. "We’ve brought back our middle guys, but we’ll have younger guys filling in the holes."

The biggest changes are on defense. The Blaze secondary faced seemingly endless turnover last season, and injuries and personnel moves made pass defense the Blaze’s big weakness.

There will be a lot of defensive changes, aside from pass rushers Michael Lewis and Caesar Rayford, James said. But even with the new faces, Utah will expect a better performance under first-year defensive coordinator Michael Brown. Brown recently finished his own nine-year career as a defensive back, and called plays last year for the Philadelphia Soul.

Whatever shape the Blaze take, they’ll have to get ready quickly. Utah opens the season in March with a pair of road games at San Antonio and Iowa. The Blaze struggled last year away from EnergySolutions Arena, going only 2-7, but James hopes getting ready for playing away helps the team bond.

"When you have guys rooming together in a hotel, they acclimate more quickly," he said. "It’s more important for us to play error-free. Hopefully these guys are ready to go."

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon