POCATELLO — Idaho State coaches shot Trae Pilster a text Thursday before practice. They needed to talk face-to-face.

Pilster, a sophomore competing for Idaho State’s starting quarterback job, hurried over to Holt Arena. Whatever they wanted, it was important.

The news wasn’t good. Pilster wasn’t going to be ISU’s quarterback for the 2015 season. But what they had to say wasn’t bad, either. The Bengals weren’t cutting the former Blackfoot star or burying him on the depth chart. He would move to slot receiver and back up KW Williams.

Even better, Pilster would receive a full scholarship starting in the fall.

“I never really wanted to move, but I’ll do anything I can to help the team,” Pilster said. “They need me in the slot, that’s what I’ll do. It seems like the coaches have a lot of confidence with me in there.”

The scholarship is affirmation of Pilster’s dedication and hard work since he walked on to the team last season. And it’s a far departure from where Pilster spent the fall of 2013, when he was an assistant high school coach in Blackfoot.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play football after that because I wasn’t able to get a hold of any coaches,” Pilster said. “But luckily I was able to get a hold of coach (Don) Bailey and coach (Mike) Kramer, and they were able to get me on in the fall. I’ve been grateful for that and haven’t looked back.”

Pilster had always played quarterback going back to eighth grade. He dabbled in defense as a high school freshman but found his place as an athletic gunslinger for the Broncos. Pilster was Blackfoot’s starting quarterback for two years, winning the state championship in 2011.

Now he’ll try to duplicate the same kind of success at ISU, but at an entirely different position. His transition, however, could be the final piece to solving the team’s offensive puzzle, particularly at wide receiver.

Idaho State’s wideouts are talented everywhere and a have a mix of speed and strength that can demoralize an opposing defensive coordinator.

But the Bengals entered the spring with one gaping hole. They didn’t have a backup for outside receiver Madison Mangum.

That crack in the armor was filled when junior CJ Hatchett slid over from the slot, and Pilster provides the solution to occupy the spot vacated by Hatchett.

Barring injuries or unforeseen disasters, ISU is two-deep at every single wideout position.

It’s not only important to battle against the wear and tear of a long season, either. The Bengals want to play at a fast pace and cram in as many offensive plays into a 60-minute game as they can. Depth will allow starters like Broc Malcom, Mangum and Williams to rest.

More importantly, the offensive talent shouldn’t take a major dip when the front-line guys are taking a breather on the sideline.

“That will be as good a group as anybody in this conference is going to have,” Kramer said. “And we don’t have ones and twos, we have two sets of starters.”

So Pilster’s meeting with the coaches wasn’t what he wanted to hear. It was a bittersweet moment. But it also set in motion his best chance to contribute to the 2015 Bengals.

Isn’t that what really matters?

“I love that I have an opportunity to get on the field,” Pilster said. “That’s where I want to be.”

GUELLER IMPROVING EVERY DAY

Idaho State quarterback Tanner Gueller hasn’t been perfect this spring. He’s missed throws and worked too slowly through his progressions at times.

But he’s getting better. It was only a matter of time.

“For Tanner Gueller, it was always going to work,” Kramer said. “He has such great wrist snap to get the ball there. And he wants to be a great player. Every time we tell him something, he’s tries to apply it immediately. So his retention is very good. He has such a bright future.”

Kramer credited offensive coordinator Sheldon Cross’ coaching for boosting Gueller’s play, but cautioned that the freshman is far from a finished product.

“We knew it was going to take time. He’s not even close to where he’s going to be,” Kramer said. “He’s not close to Justin (Arias), but he’s way better than he was earlier this spring.”

While Gueller hasn’t reached the level of Arias, ISU’s starting signal caller in 2013 and 2014, the Rochester, Washington, native has that kind of potential.

“Our goal is to win the Big Sky Conference championship, get in the playoffs and win the national championship,” Kramer said. “That hasn’t been done by very many redshirt freshmen. So the numbers are against him. What’s good for him is that if he could sit for a couple years and watch. By the time he’s ready to play, he’ll be just like Justin was. Justin sat for two years and became one of the best players in the United States.”