Rutgers released its depth chart for Thursday's season opener and it featured a few surprises.

The most notable absence was wide receiver Andre Patton. The sophomore was listed as a starter on the preseason depth chart, and had a strong training camp. He had three catches for 72 yards and three touchdowns in the final scrimmage of camp last Saturday.

Rutgers is expected to release its first injury report of the season on Sunday, which should explain the absence of Patton and others.

Already without wide receiver Ruhann Peele, who is sidelined indefinitely with an upper body injury, Rutgers coach Kyle Flood will turn to either sophomore Janarion Grant, sophomore John Tsimis or fifth-year transfer Andrew Turzilli at the starting spot opposite star wideout Leonte Carroo.

Another notable absence from the two-deep is No. 2 tight end Nick Arcidiacono. The sophomore has been replaced by redshirt freshman Matt Flanagan, who made the most of his opportunity when Arcidiacono missed time with an injury.

On the offensive line, backup right tackle Bryan Leoni is not listed. Leoni suffered an undisclosed injury early in camp and no update has been provided on his condition. The second-team line has been shuffled in Leoni's absence, with J.J. Denman moving from right guard to right tackle and Ryan Brodie moving from left tackle to right guard.

Two freshmen, Marcus Applefield and Zack Heeman, are listed as the backups at left tackle. Classmate Tariq Cole is also listed as a co-backup at left guard with redshirt freshman Dorian Miller.

On defense, Flood continues to show faith in converted running back Justin Goodwin. The sophomore was moved to cornerback nine days ago and is slotted as a starter for the opener. Fifth-year senior Gareef Glashen is listed as the other starting corner.

Sophomores Anthony Cioffi and Nadir Barnwell, who were listed as starters before training camp, and freshman Dre Boggs are listed as the top backups. All three of those players battled injuries during camp, but returned to practice this week. All of the cornerbacks figure to get plenty of playing time against pass-happy Washington State.

Delon Stephenson won the camp-long battle with Johnathan Aiken for the starting free safety position.

On the defensive line, Daryl Stephenson and Sebastian Joseph swapped spots. Stephenson is now the backup nose tackle behind Kenneth Kirksey and Joseph is now the backup three-technique tackle behind Darius Hamilton. Joseph came on strong toward the end of camp while filling in for Hamilton.

There was an interesting adjustment to the second group of linebackers, with freshman Brandon Russell bumping redshirt freshman Myles Nash off the two-deep at strong side linebacker. Nash has worked with the second-team all offseason.

Joe Roth is listed as the starting punter, but Flood said he will also use transfer Tim Gleeson. Roth has a stronger leg, while Gleeson has shown an ability to drop punts inside the 20. Freshmen running backs Robert Martin and Josh Hicks are listed as co-starters at kick returner alongside Grant. Flood said he expects Martin and Hicks to be valuable special teams contributors.

Including special teams, Rutgers has eight true freshmen on the two-deep.

Here's the full depth chart:

OFFENSE

QB: Gary Nova/Chris Laviano

RB: Paul James/Desmon Peoples

FB: Michael Burton/Sam Bergen

TE: Tyler Kroft/Matt Flanagan

WR: Leonte Carroo/Carlton Agudosi

WR: Janarion Grant or John Tsimis or Andrew Turzilli

LT: Keith Lumpkin/Marcus Applefield or Zack Heeman

LG: Kaleb Johnson/Dorian Miller or Tariq Cole

C: Betim Bujari/Derrick Nelson

RG: Chris Muller/Ryan Brodie

RT: Taj Alexander/J.J. Denman

DEFENSE

DE: Dave Milewski/Quanzell Lambert or Kemoko Turay

NT: Kenneth Kirksey/Daryl Stephenson

DT: Darius Hamilton/Sebastian Joseph

DE: Djwany Mera/Julian Pinnix-Odrick

WLB: Steve Longa/T.J. Taylor

MLB: Kevin Snyder/L.J. Liston

SLB: Quentin Gause/Brandon Russell

CB: Gareef Glashen/Dre Boggs

FS: Delon Stephenson/Johnathan Aiken

SS: Lorenzo Waters/Davon Jacobs

CB: Justin Goodwin/Anthony Cioffi or Nadir Barnwell

SPECIALISTS

P: Joseph Roth/Tim Gleeson

PK: Kyle Federico/Nick Borgese or Nick DeLouisa

KO: Kyle Federico/Nick DeLouisa

H: Mike Bimonte/Nick DeLouisa or Nick Borgese

PR: Janarion Grant/Desmon Peoples

KR: Janarion Grant/Justin Goodwin

KR: Robert Martin or Josh Hicks/Desmon Peoples

SN: Alan Lucy/Kevin Snyder

Dan Duggan may be reached at dduggan@nj.com. Follow him on Twitter @DDuggan21. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.