COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Locker participating in practice

"I don't expect to be anything less," he said. "... (My recovery) never really had any setbacks. It went pretty smooth. I was able to do more and more each day and just got stronger and stronger, and it's continuing to do that."

The injury cost Locker 12 practices. However, he said he tried to make the most of his time on the sidelines by studying the offenses and defenses and the routes being run.

He expects that any timing that might have been lost with his receivers will be quickly restored.

"Hopefully, in the next couple of days we'll get comfortable with them again," he said. "It's not a thing where having a week off is going to kill us with that. We did it all summer and all spring, so it's just going to kind of be refreshing that and make sure we're all on the same page heading into next week. I was able to do a little bit last week throwing wise. I tried to shake off some of the rust then. But any time that you've taken some time off, you have to work out a few things and we'll (do that)."

Locker said he isn't yet cleared for full sprinting. He said he believes his hamstring would probably stand up to it, but that there is no point in taking the risk ... at least not yet.

Meanwhile, Oregon has some quarterback questions of its own, as Bellotti is still deciding whether Nate Costa or Justin Roper will be his starter.

Costa has seemed to be the likely candidate for most of camp, and Bellotti indicated he hopes to decide this week so that the starter can take most of the snaps in the final week leading up to the game.

UW coach Tyrone Willingham admits he will be as eager as anyone to find out.

"You'd like to know," Willingham said. "It gives you a better look at what the skills of that individual are, so that if you have that information it's better to know. ... The sooner we can figure out who that quarterback is, what his strengths are, then the better we can kind of pinpoint what we do and what we think will work."

Fouch wins holder job

Perhaps the most lowly anticipated position battle of fall camp may have been settled: Reserve quarterback Ronnie Fouch will hold on field goals and extra points.

The position came open with the departure of senior Carl Bonnell. Willingham initially opened the job to the other kickers. That apparently didn't work out, but Willingham figured something would. Scholarships are awarded to kickers and punters and even long snappers, but Willingham said he's never had trouble finding an adequate holder.

And now he's apparently found one in Fouch.

"It's comfortable to me," said Fouch, who hasn't held since his freshman year in high school. "I just catch the ball and put it down. I do it how the kickers like it."

The kickers don't sound all that particular.

"A holder is basically a holder," Jared Ballman said. "If he puts in down in the same spot the same way, that's about all you can ask for."

EXTRA POINTS

Defensive tackle Cameron Elisara has been missing from practice this week due to what Willingham indicated will a short-term academic issue. ... Willingham, who recently praised his true freshman running backs, added Tuesday that redshirt freshmen Willie Griffin and Brandon Yakaboski also are performing well when healthy. However, sophomore Brandon Johnson, the team's top returning rusher behind Locker, hasn't been healthy enough to figure into the mix. ... Secondary coach J.D. Williams said his current No. 1 unit would likely be Darin Harris and Nate Williams at the safeties with Quinton Richardson and Mesphin Forrester on the corners.

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