CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Nobody who has seen Ahmad Brooks seems terribly concerned about his rehabilitation from offseason knee surgery.

Western Michigan, which opens its football season Saturday at Virginia, can only go on what it hears.

The Broncos aren't going to see him.

Brooks was not listed on an updated depth chart distributed Tuesday and will not play Saturday, UVa head coach Al Groh said.

Groh said Brooks has been practicing in pads, an increase in his workload since the start of drills, but showed little interest in elaborating.

"He's got his pads on," Groh said. "You can call that what you want. He's done a little bit, but as I've said before, not to dodge the question, but until it really looks like he's going to play in a game, it's just a distraction from what we're trying to do."

Mark Miller, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior from Birmingham, Ala., will make his first college start in Brooks' place.

Miller, who began his UVa career as a walk-on, will be backed up by fifth-year senior Bryan White. White, who underwent back surgery after the opening game of the 2004 season and successfully appealed for an extra year of eligibility, also is listed No. 2 behind Kai Parham at the other inside linebacker spot in UVa's 3-4 defensive scheme.

"Whether anyone's hurt or not hurt, I'm ready to play," said White, who said he has never felt better after surgery to repair two "burst" discs and a fractured vertebra.

There has been considerable speculation that the Cavaliers might be saving Brooks for their second game, Sept. 17, at Syracuse. If so, nobody has told the players.

"It's one of those things where we're not allowed to talk about injuries, [but] it's a mystery to us," White said. "Whether we get him back this week or next week, we can't wait."

Redshirt freshman Clint Sintim, scheduled to start at outside linebacker, seemed excited by the prospect of Brooks' return.

"He's moving around; he's looking real good," Sintim said. "He'll be back. When he comes back, you'll know it. Ahmad is Ahmad. There's no other athlete like Ahmad in the world."

The first team

There were numerous changes in the depth chart first published in UVa's media guide, not all of them surprises, including moves that sent guard Brian Barthelmes to center and cornerback Tony Franklin to safety. Both players will start at their new positions.

Taking Franklin's place at cornerback is Chris Gorham, a sophomore who played a total of 20 plays last season. In something of a surprise, UVa will start 6-foot-7, 310-pound Branden Albert, a true freshman, in Barthelmes' former spot at left guard.

Albert, lightly recruited out of Glen Burnie (Md.) High School, qualified for admission after spending the 2004-05 school year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham.

"This was one of those keep-turning-over-the-rocks kind of deals," Groh said. "Branden was not a highly recruited player, although he's going to play like a top player.

"There were a couple of plays [Monday] where Branden was out on the edge and really running and I thought to myself, wow, that this is the best this play has ever looked."

Also winning spots in the opening-day lineup were fifth-year wide receiver Ottowa Anderson, who was academically ineligible in 2004 and began the summer at the bottom of the depth chart, and senior nose tackle Kwakou Robinson.

When asked about past opportunities and why things will be different for Robinson in 2005, Groh responded, "Faith. ... He's got one last chance to do it. Sometimes, that's the best self-motivator."

Still a question

The only position at which there is an "or" between the first and second names listed is at punter, where junior-college transfer Ryan Weigand is battling sophomore Chris Gould, who was handed the punting job with three games remaining in the 2004 season.

"I learned a lot from a lot of different coaches, some of whom I've never met," said Groh, who wanted to observe his punters for two more days. "Bud Grant [of the Minnesota Vikings] once said, 'Never make a personnel decision until you have to.' "

Groh said that Weigand, like Gould, has a redshirt year at his disposal.