POCATELLO — Idaho State head coach Rob Phenicie released his 2-deep for Thursday's season opener against Western Oregon at Holt Arena. The list includes several returning starters and a few surprises.

Among the surprises is redshirt freshman wide receiver Tanner Conner, who is slotted behind Mitch Gueller as the No. 2 wideout on the right side of ISU's offense. Conner worked his way up the depth chart during fall camp and impressed Phenicie during the Bengals' scrimmages.

“One of the biggest surprises coming out of camp is Tanner Conner at receiver,” Phenicie said Monday during his weekly press conference at Holt Arena. “In the first scrimmage, we hit him for a long touchdown, and he continued along that path. It wasn't just a flash in the pan.”

Conner is one of seven freshmen and redshirt freshmen on the 2-deep. Freshman Jack Tufono is the No. 2 left tackle behind Brian Fineanganofo, redshirt freshman Trey Bell is behind Michael Dean at slot receiver, redshirt freshman Carson Sutherland is the No. 2 left guard behind Jacob Molenaar, redshirt freshman Oshea Trujillo is backing up Joe Martin at outside linebacker, and redshirt freshman Atoa Fox is a backup safety.

Another surprise is junior running back and first-year Bengal Kieran Yancy as the backup to starter Ty Flanagan. Yancy joined a crowded backfield in which James Madison and Nehemiah McFarlin were taking second-team reps early in fall camp.

Yancy was at Oregon State last season and played one year at Saddleback College in California. He may also be used as a kick returner, though kick and punt returners were not listed on the 2-deep.

Former Idaho Vandals quarterback Gunnar Amos was named the No. 2 signal caller, behind incumbent starter Tanner Gueller. Amos didn't join ISU's fall camp until Aug. 17 but surpassed four other QBs to reach No. 2.

Including Amos, ISU's backup quarterbacks have attempted a combined 13 passes in their college careers. Amos went 3 for 10 with no touchdowns and one interception last season at Idaho, but his experience at a higher-level football program gave him an immediate edge over the rest of the competition.

“He's doing a pretty good job picking up the offense pretty fast,” Phenicie said. “Throwing the ball well. “(We) like his leadership qualities. ... He just came in a little bit more polished.”

Senior Hagen Graves is the other starting wide receiver, across the formation from Mitch Gueller. He is backed up by redshirt sophomore Chris 'Scooby' Reynolds, who missed the 2016 with an ACL injury.

Christian Holland beat Kody Graves for the starting middle linebacker job. That battle to replace the graduated Hayden Stout had been ongoing since spring practices. Adkin Aguirre and Nikko Hayes are listed as starting safeties. Aguirre, Hayes and Jayson Miller had been rotating through first-team reps during camp until Miller suffered a minor injury. Miller is not listed on the 2-deep, but Phenicie said “he's in the mix.”

Brandon Monroe and Anthony Ricks are listed as starting cornerbacks, with Koby Lowe and Caleb Brown as the No. 2s. Ricks has started the past two seasons, while Brown and Monroe both saw adequate action last season as freshmen. Lowe occasionally played with the first team during camp while Brown was out with a minor injury.

Redshirt freshman Parker Johnson earned starting kicking duties. Zak Johnson, Parker's older brother and ISU's three-year starting placekicker, was limited throughout fall camp and is not on the 2-deep.