After an offseason of great change, the New Mexico Stars are ready to commence with their 2013 pro indoor football campaign today with a 6:05 p.m. MDT road game against the San Angelo (Texas) Bandits.

Since the Stars closed out their rocky inaugural season early last summer, the franchise has switched from the Indoor Football League to the Lone Star Football League, has new ownership, plenty of new players and an accompanying fresh attitude.

The Stars hadn’t even begun their overnight drive to San Angelo early this morning, but already they had to feel like winners. That’s because they were to make the roughly 520-mile one-way trip on a sleeper bus, a far cry from the upright seating the players endured last season while in the far-flung IFL that scheduled the Stars to make two separate journeys to Washington state. One round trip was almost 3,000 miles

“It’s a better (transportation) set-up for us,” said second-year New Mexico coach Chris Williams, who bought a 51 percent stake in the team in the offseason, with the rest owned by the LSFL. “We’ll get there in time for the guys to unwind.”

The Stars are one of five teams in the Lone Star this season and will play a 12-game schedule along with the Amarillo Venom, Laredo Rattlesnakes, Abilene Bombers and San Angelo.

“I think we’ll have seven, possibly eight teams next year,” said Greg Martin, the league’s director of football operations, who was in town last week helping the Stars with ticket sales and sponsorships. “That’s what they’re looking at. Eight would be a perfect scenario.”

Meanwhile, Williams has been scrubbing off the residue remaining from last year’s 2-12 season. In doing so, he said he’s putting added emphasis on having New Mexico players in uniform.

“I would say of the 23-man roster, you’re probably looking at as many as 10 or 11 of those being from here,” said Williams, a veteran coach who led the Odessa Roughnecks to the 2006 Intense Football League title. “We wanted to get guys who cared about the team that we felt would help the locker room.”

Among the in-state players are fullback/linebacker Wallace LaBrone (New Mexico Highlands), wide receiver/defensive back Roland Bruno (UNM), LB Bryant Williams (UNM) and running back Seth Smith (New Mexico State).

Another of those guys is former Aggies receiver Marcus Allen, who played the final four games with the Stars in 2012. He’s already noticed a major uptick in team morale over last season.

“It’s way better,” he said after a recent evening training camp practice on the West Side. “It’s a way better attitude — a way better attitude. There’s not complaining about little things, not too much (in)fighting going on. The chemistry between the players is really good right now.”

At QB, Williams will be counting on KJ Black, a Prairie View A&M alum who was the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2009. A torn ACL before his senior season in 2010, however, put a wrench in his pro hopes.

“I had all 32 (NFL) teams come by and interview me at school,” said the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder. “There were 21 teams at Pro Day, but I guess they didn’t think I was ready at that time since I was still recovering.”

Black, who played with Cedar Rapids of the IFL last season, is with the Stars because of his previous association with Williams in 2011 in West Texas.

“He brought me in after my senior year and gave me an opportunity,” Black said. “I took to him very well. He’s a good guy, one of the best guys in the indoor game. And when he called me (this offseason) to come by and try to be the quarterback, I jumped at it.”

Williams said that fans of the indoor game should see even higher-scoring games than the team played last year in the IFL. Last season, for instance, one final score was 85-75.

“Linebackers will be more restricted this year,” he said. “Last year, they could flow all over the place into coverage. Now there’s a defensive box. … and those linebackers generally have to play within that area until the ball is either released or the quarterback scrambles or the quarterback pump-fakes …”

In tonight’s game, the Stars could be at a disadvantage, for this will be the first time many of the players will have played — or even practiced — in the walled indoor setting.

“Without having a feel for the indoor arena, the wall, it’s not going to be impossible, but it’s going to be tough,” Williams said.

Bandits coach Chris Simpson, meanwhile, not only got to see his team indoors, but in an exhibition game last week.

“It’s a tremendous advantage to have a game like that to get the kinks out,” he said.