Again, action for the Washington Huskies’ late-afternoon practice, which was more like a breezy walkthrough, lasted about an hour.

Afterward, the start of the team’s “mock game,” which coach Steve Sarkisian had spoke about after the morning practice, began as players grabbed their belongings from the locker room, and boarded a bus to stay at an undisclosed team hotel in Bellevue.

“All the things that take place in a game to get our guys in a situation where they feel comfortable doing it the way we want it done,” Sarkisian said earlier in the day.

Other notes:

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Practice barely lasted an hour – just enough to over a few kickoff return drills, two-minute offense and some scout team stuff on Louisiana State.

None of the players sidelined from practice Wednesday returned (a reminder of that list later in the post).

And nobody got hurt Thursday morning as coach Steve Sarkisian said the players are starting to shift their attention toward the regular season.

“I think they’re just excited to get into game-prep mode,” the first-year coach said.

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An earlier-than-usual look around the Pacific-10 Conference, since it is the last day of UW’s two-a-day workouts at Husky Stadium:

ARIZONA: Here’s a feature story on Puyallup’s Ryan Grant, an oft-injured fifth-year senior (two ACL surgeries) who is finally getting his chance to start on the offensive line at tackle.

ARIZONA STATE: There are reasons why Burfict could be the biggest impact true freshman in the conference at linebaker. And then there is THIS reason.

CALIFORNIA: As usual, a Bay Area blackout in news. Here is a look at the opening-day roster.

OREGON:

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Preseason camp will officially expire Friday night, but that doesn’t mean the Washington Huskies are only concerned about themselves before then.

No. 11 Louisiana State awaits.

And this isn’t just a Tigers squad intent on erasing all doubts from last season’s disappointing effort, struggling on both sides of the ball. It’s a roaming, foaming Tigers’ nation, expected to invade Husky Stadium with their own tint of college-football purple.

Scout-team work began Wednesday. On one end, the No. 1 offense ran against some of LSU’s attacking schemes under new defensive coordinator John Chavis, who spent the past 14 seasons in the Southeastern Conference at Tennessee.

“They always have good talent, and have good players. I think it will be a good test for up front, and in the (receiving corps),” said UW quarterback Jake Locker. “(Receivers are) going to have to run good routes. We’re going to have to make sure we’re crisp up front with our blocking schemes and everything. And we’re going to have to make plays … and find ways to make things happen.”

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Took a much-needed day off Tuesday, and the blog was a little light in content. We’ll return to its thorough content today for a 3 p.m. practice. Meanwhile, some news around the Pacific-10 Conference:

ARIZONA: Sure, the Wildcats cannot pick a starting quarterback. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make decisions – like, for example, moving Golden from cornerback to safety, which has worked out just fine.

ARIZONA STATE: Touted defensive end has been suspended for three games because of a team violation.

CALIFORNIA: New offensive coordinator (Ludwig) has a long history with Tedford’s

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Editor’s note: I was off Tuesday. UW men’s basketball writer Don Ruiz covered morning practice, and the evening stuff was taken care of by Scott Johnson, of the Everett Herald.

Former University of Washington football coach Jim Lambright has been by a couple of times to witness the new tempo – and era – of Steve Sarkisian.

And on Tuesday night, 76-year-old Don James, who spent 17 seasons with the team, attended practice, and talked to the team afterward.

“I’ve heard more good things. The enthusiasm’s been good. I think this team’s going to be better than the new staff might’ve thought when they got here,” James said. “People that really know Tyrone (Willingham) feel like his best recruiting class was last year. … I’m really impressed with the things they’re doing. They’re making good decisions.”

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The start of the final week of preseason camp for most Pacific-10 Conference schools. Alert, alert, alert!

ARIZONA: The dreaded two-quarterback system might be a thing of the present for the Wildcats’ offense. Ten schools employed it last year, with one registering a winning record.

CALIFORNIA: Not a real surprise to anyone, but coach Jeff Tedford names incumbent Riley as his starting quarterback for 2009 – quite possibly now because he has so many more decisions on starters to make before fall camp closes.

OREGON: Ducks closing in on final scrimmage tonight as

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There’s nothing like sweating out hard work, and a bunch of screaming and yelling in front of the network that promotes itself as the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” – ESPN.

But University of Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian welcomed the idea.

Sarkisian informed the team he would be miked up for a segment that will air on ESPN’s college football show, “Game Day.”

“It’s to show everybody how hard we work,” Sarkisian said following the team’s two-hour, 20-minute practice Monday, and after the ESPN camera crew wrapped up for the day. “It’s the same reason why we open our practice, you know.”

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