Hokies still waiting to name starting tailback
No. 7 Virginia Tech hasn’t made a decision yet on a starting tailback for Saturday’s game against No. 5 Alabama.

According to the Hokies’ game notes released Monday, either Josh Oglesby or Ryan Williams will start. True Freshman David Wilson, a George Washington High grad, is listed third on the depth chart.

Tech coach Frank Beamer, through athletics spokesman Bryan Johnston, said he and running backs coach Billy Hite will wait until at least after Thursday’s practice to name a starter.

“We’re preparing the three of them and hopefully we’ll see how it goes this week,” Beamer said during his teleconference Monday. “Lack of reps in the preseason have been our toughest thing, really. We’re going to try to prepare three and plan to play all three.”

Despite a slight ankle sprain suffered in last Saturday’s scrimmage, Williams, a redshirt freshman, is the only one of the three that hasn’t missed significant time to injury this preseason.

Oglesby (hamstring and heel) and Wilson (shoulder) both missed about a week of practice with their maladies.

All three practiced full contact last week, and barring some unforeseen development, should be ready to go on Saturday.

Depth chart revelations
Tech released its depth chart Monday for the Alabama game, revealing a few notable roster moves.

Redshirt freshman Xavier Boyce jumped Jarrett Boykin to win the starting job at split end. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound Boyce was one of the team’s top newcomers of the spring. He played in three games last year and was granted a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Boykin is sure to still get plenty of playing time. The sophomore led the Hokies in receiving yards (441) last year, and was the only receiver on the team that caught a touchdown (two actually).

Some other depth chart revelations: Davon Morgan and Dyrell Roberts will share kickoff return duties; Williams will get first crack at returning punts, and he will be backed up by Jayron Hosley, one of only two true freshmen, along with Wilson, expected to see playing time Saturday; Cody Grimm is expected to start at whip linebacker, and Dorian Porch will get the nod at rover.

Wilson is listed as a co-No. 2 kick returner with Cris Hill.

Martin gets some rest
Beamer said Monday that the team is giving senior whip linebacker Cam Martin extra rest in practice to try to keep him fresh for Saturday.

Martin, a George Washington High grad who started all but one game in 2008, still isn’t 100 percent back from offseason knee surgery. He’ll likely share playing time with Grimm, who was one of the team’s top defensive playmakers as a reserve last year.

“(Martin is) a guy that’s experienced,” Beamer said. “He knows what he’s doing, it’s just his ability to do it on that knee, and I think the more rest he can get, the better chance he’s got to play more reps in a game.”

‘Bama defense has something to prove
Defense seems to be reason for much of the optimism surrounding No. 5 Alabama this preseason. The Crimson Tide returns nine starters on defense, including defensive tackle Terrence Cody and linebacker Rolondo McClain, both All-Americans in 2008.

Alabama ranked second nationally last season in rushing defense (74.1 yards per game) and third in total defense (263.5), but it yielded 31 points in losses to both Florida in the SEC championship game and Utah in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the season.

The Crimson Tide is intent on preventing another defensive breakdown when it faces a third straight top 10 team, No. 7 Virginia Tech, on Saturday.

“I feel bad about it,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I’ve said before that I think we’re 0-2 and we’ve given up 31 points per game (in our last two). ... That doesn’t sound like good defense to me. That doesn’t sound like the identity that we want to have.”

No news on Ingram and Jones
According to Saban, Alabama is still waiting to hear back from the NCAA after sending it results of an in-house investigation of a fishing trip that wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram took during spring break.

When asked during a Monday press conference if he had heard from the NCAA, Saban said, “Not at this point.”

Alabama conducted a four-month probe and self-imposed no penalties after investigating the Gulf Coast fishing trip the players took with Curtis Anderson, a 56-year old man who reportedly paid for the outing.

Anderson claims to be friends with the players, and according to Alabama, has no affiliation with the school.

Jones, the team’s leading returning receiver, and Ingram, the team’s leading returning rusher, are not expected to miss Saturday’s game.

Extra points
Former Jefferson Forest standout free safety Mark Carter recently joined Virginia Tech’s team as a walk-on. … The Hokies will wear their home maroon jerseys Saturday, and Alabama will wear white. The schools are asking their fans to wear the same colors to show their support.