Fresh off a season in which it ranked as one of JC football’s best programs offensively, East L.A. College enters 2010 looking for bigger and better things.

The Huskies, who kick off the season at 6 p.m. Saturday at L.A. Valley, return a number of starters and veteran players from a 5-5 team (5-2 in the Pacific conference) that ranked second in the state and 12th nationally in offense.

The leading returnee is All-American wide receiver Anthony Denham.

“We have a good nucleus of returning players and we made some improvements during the off season, and added some new coaches to our staff,” Lynn Cain, who enters his third season as coach, said. “We had a very successful season in 2009, but we’re more experienced and better this season.”

Denham, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound product of L.A. Wilson High School, is a player to watch again and will be hard to miss.

The possessor of excellent speed and leaping ability, he has been on the radar of major college recruiters since last year when he caught 49 passes, including 16 for touchdowns. He averaged 24.3 yards per reception and 148.6 yards per game.

Sophomore wide receiver Michael Allen (Lynwood High) provides the Huskies with a dual threat. He caught 51 passes and averaged 15 yards per catch. ELAC also has promising newcomers in freshmen Lanny Delgado (Garfield), Bryan Munoz (South Gate) and Chris De Leon (Montebello). Delgado and Munoz were All-City selections.

Sophomore tailback Isam Pegues (Lynwood) is a powerful runner with speed who was named all-conference after running for 427 yards (5.1) and seven TDs in 2009.

The Huskies also have a newcomer in Jared Davis (Locke), who transferred from L.A. Southwest College, and sophomore Aubrey Haynes (St. Paul) who will be pushing for playing time.

Mike Oliver, a freshman from North Torrance, won the starting quarterback job over two other freshmen — Richard Ragland from Venice and Jonathan Rojas from L.A. Wilson. Oliver has the task of following Pedro Velasquez, who broke all the school passing records and ranked second in the state with 3,297 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Assistant coach and offensive coordinator Nick Garrett welcomed back five veterans on the offensive line in tackles Robert Limon (6-4, 265; Wilson) and Nelson Maldonado (6-3, 265; Roosevelt), guards Cesar Estrada (6-2, 290; Bell Gardens) and Willie Mayoral (6-2, 280; La Habra) and center Lenny Sorto (6-0, 250; Cathedral).

They are being backed up by sophomores Sean Rubalcava (6-3, 285; St. Paul), Adrian Cabada (6-2, 280; L.A. Wilson) and Edgar Rosales (5-10, 235; Garfield), and freshmen Ramon Barraza (6-3, 265; Roosevelt) and Carlos Lozano (6-7, 345; Montebello).

Assistant coach Steve Ruedaflores, ELAC’s defensive and recruiting coordinator, is working with what he calls 11 key returners on defense from the 2009 team.

The defensive line has Chris McCoy (Bell Gardens) and Guillermo Duncan (Whittier) at the ends, with Gary Rubalcava (St. Paul) and Garrett Carrillo (El Rancho) at the tackles.

But they are being pressed for playing time by sophomores Ivan Anguiano (South East), and David Henderson (Los Angeles), and freshman Chris Floyd (Monrovia).

The linebacker unit is led by Rafael Ortega (Roosevelt) in the middle and Joe Green (Jefferson) and Julian Coleman (Baxley High, Columbus, Ohio) on the outside.

Sophomores Mitchell Garner (Muir) and Gabriel Zendejas (Arroyo) and freshman Gabriel Soto (Garfield) are ready to step in.

Free safety Darius Harris (Dorsey) is the leader in the secondary. The starting strong safety is Joel Jimenez (Roosevelt) and the cornerbacks are Jeremy Harris (Dorsey) and Terrence McCoy (Animo).

The secondary depth chart is deep with Ryan Beatty (Alhambra), Robert Fulton (Muir), Chris Dunlap (Muir) and Eric McHenry (Locke).

“I’m expecting us to be better defensively,” Cain said.

The 1974 state JC player of the year for ELAC who was later a star at USC and in the NFL enters his third season as coach.

“We recruited some players to fill in the gaps and they will also help us on special teams,” he said. “We’re excited about the combinations of all three phases of the game.”