KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

New head coach Mike London has only two true freshmen listed on Virginia's depth chart.

CHARLOTTESVILLE --Readers of Mike London's Twitter page were led to believe that Virginia's new football coach would reveal the identity of his No. 2 quarterback Monday.

For London's sake, maybe he'll be better at delivering victories than delivering scoops.

When Virginia released its depth chart for its opener Saturday against Richmond, redshirt freshmen Ross Metheny and true freshman Mike Rocco were listed as co-No. 2 quarterbacks behind senior Marc Verica.

The only news on the quarterback front was that Metheny and Rocco had moved ahead of Michael Strauss, whose December graduation from Gulliver Prep in Key Biscayne, Fla., had enabled him to participate in spring practice.

"The tricky part was choosing that second quarterback," London said. "No one between Ross and Michael Rocco had really separated themselves. It really depends on how the game is going as to which one will go in the game.

"We're looking for a clear second, but we don't have it right now. We have two guys on the same line and they have to compete, even this week, to find out who will be the first to go in the game."

Seemingly, Metheny would get the call if the outcome already has been decided. That would allow the Cavaliers to hold open a redshirt option for Rocco.

Unlike predecessor Al Groh, who used 14 true freshmen in a make-or-break season in 2009, London seems committed to redshirting most of his recruits.

Morgan Moses, a 6-foot-6, 350-pound offensive lineman who originally signed with the Cavaliers in 2008 and then spent the 2009-10 school year at Fork Union Military Academy, is listed as the No. 2 right tackle behind Oday Aboushi.

Rocco is the only other true freshman listed anywhere on the depth chart.

London said other true freshmen with a chance of playing Saturday would be Rijo Walker because of a lack of depth at cornerback and track signee Drequan Hoskey if he's needed on special teams.

Hoskey, who originally committed to Richmond when London was the Spiders' coach, will count against the Cavaliers' scholarship limit if he plays in a game, but UVa is safely under the 85-scholarship NCAA limit.

It appears that Parade All-America running back Kevin Parks will be redshirted unless Virginia has problems with injuries or unsatisfactory performance.

"He's [Parks] going to be a very, very good player here," London said, "but I'm excited that the backs we do have ... will be able to provide us with the spark that we need.

"I have not made a definitive decision about it. Kevin may travel with us just to get used to that."

A bigger surprise was London's designation of sophomore Perry Jones and fifth-year senior Raynard Horne as the co-No. 1 tailbacks. Horne has five rushing attempts in his college career.

"I don't know if that would have surprised me too much," Verica said. "For anybody who has been in this program, especially guys in Raynard's class like myself, it's never been a secret what Raynard's ability was.

"Ever since he's been here, he's arguably been the most athletically talented person on the team as far as raw ability and speed and strength and size (6 feet, 210 pounds). It was just a matter of him fitting in and buying in and really just living up to his potential."

Fifth-year senior defensive tackle John-Kevin Dolce, in position to make his second career start, noted that a number of players have taken advantage of the "clean slate" afforded by the coaching change.

Horne and fourth-year junior Max Milien each has gotten looks at running back, fullback and wide receiver. Now, it looks as if Milien (6-0, 215) will start at fullback after a spirited battle with converted linebacker Terrence Fells-Danzer.

"He's [Milien] done a great job in playing the role that fullbacks need to play in a two-back offense -- being able to block isolation on the linebacker, being able to slip into the flank, being able to protect when teams are blitzing, being able to run the short-yardage belly play," London said.

"He's done a good job in challenging Terrence Fells-Danzer and may have surpassed him slightly. Because of what he's done in practice, he's been recognized as a guy we think we can win with."