Leading up to the first game of the historic 2026 season, hornetsports.com will take a look at each position group. The first installment features the offensive line coached by Kris Richardson and Angus McClure and tight ends coached by Robert Conley.

• The Hornets feature four players who have started Div. I games on the offensive line, making the unit one of the most experienced on the team.  Returners Bryson Summers and Jeremiah Stallworth and transfers Vae Soifua and Shontrail Key will look to lead a group of 20 offensive linemen during the year.
• Summers is the most experienced Hornet having played in 23 games over the past two seasons. The senior is capable of playing all five positions on the line and has started a pair of games at guard and tackle during his Sacramento State career. Stallworth played in six games as a true freshman, starting three when the team used a sixth offensive lineman.
• Soifua is no stranger to the Hornets, having faced Sacramento State while playing for Weber State. Soifua was a three-star recruit out of high school who redshirted at BYU in 2022 before playing in 16 games for Weber State over the next three years. Key also had a winding path the Capital City as he spent 2021 and 2022 at Arizona, 2023 at Grambling State and 2024 and 2025 at Incarnate Word. He has played in 21 games over the last three years.
• The team also returns senior Elijah Ortiz and Brandon Sousa, juniors Davis May, DeAnthony Sheffield and Richard McKay, sophomores Luke Slater and Giovanni Kovacs and redshirt freshman Jaxon Moore.
• Sacramento State bolstered its depth with the addition of  UCLA transfer Garrison Blank who was a three-star recruit at Rocklin HS. The team also added five junior college players comprised of Jamin Guilbert (American River), Hayden Frazier and Dylan Spencer (Fullerton JC), Alex Kenward (Iowa Central) and Shaan Lathan (San Jose City).
• The freshman class is made up of Jeremiah Ponce and three-star recruit Daniel Mataele.
• Tight end Jordan Williams is the leading returning receiver on the team. Williams played in all 12 games a year ago and finished the season with 15 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
• Kyle Koontz returns to the program after playing 2025 at Houston Christian where he had 10 receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. Elijah Huddle and Davis Ambeuhl will also be back for their second year with the program.
• Newcomers to the group are comprised of freshmen Jahlil Lindsey, Jack Hodge and Luke Meeker and four-year transfer Cedric Anton.

NOTEBOOK

• For Hornet player and broadcaster Darren Arbet continues to work his magic in indoor football. Arbet led the Nashville Kats to the AF1 title with a 59-53 win over Albany. In a game which is heavily driven by the offense, it was Nashville's defense which sealed the contest with a fourth-down goal line stop in the final seconds.

KATS WIN THE ARENA CROWN ??

MADNESS IN CLARKSVILLE ?? pic.twitter.com/XvGP0HGwip

— Kats Football (@KatsFootballAF1) August 8, 2026

• Darnell Sankey, who was an FCS All-American linebacker for the Hornets, recently recorded his 500th career tackle in the CFL. Sankey is currently playing for the BC Lions after spending the past two seasons in Montreal. Sankey has previously played in the NFL and the XFL.

Congratulations to Darnell Sankey who just had his 500th career defensive tackle! ?? pic.twitter.com/wrs3KSYxkw

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 14, 2026