BOULDER — The naming of a starter in the University of Colorado's quarterback duel is expected Sunday, and unless there is serious slippage between now and during Saturday's scrimmage, his name will be Cody Hawkins.

CU coach Dan Hawkins, Cody's father, and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mark Helfrich reiterated Wednesday that Cody retains "a slight edge" over junior-college transfer Nick Nelson.

Helfrich said Cody Hawkins "has been very consistent" and has "been practicing really well. He's just made a few more plays in there and is taking care of the ball."

Nelson, said Helfrich, "is doing fine. He's made a couple of pressing mistakes of just getting in the battle and trying to do a little too much when it wasn't there."

Helfrich, whose opinion in identifying a No. 1 will carry the most weight, said last week he hopes when a decision is made it will be apparent to the entire offense and "percolate" through the team.

Asked if he senses that happening now, Helfrich said, "I've read some of the stuff other players have said, and I think Cody has an edge right now and . . . players have made statements to that effect. That's OK. We'll make that official and very apparent when it is such."

Helfrich added Nelson isn't too far behind to make Hawkins uncatchable. And although Cody Hawkins could get more work with the No. 1 offense Saturday — that decision will be made later this week — Nelson keeps battling. He suffered a bruised right hand during a scrimmage Sunday but hasn't missed any work.

During the scrimmage, Cody Hawkins directed three of the five scoring drives, throwing two touchdown passes on short fade routes to Patrick Williams. Nelson led one of the scoring drives; freshman Matt Ballenger guiding the other.

Dan Hawkins said naming a starting quarterback the week before game week would be "just for the good of everybody, you (media) and us."

Saturday's scrimmage (10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Folsom Field) will be open to season-ticket holders only as part of Fan Training Camp Day.

THEY'RE BACK: Wednesday marked the return of offensive linemen Erick Faatagi, Keenan Stevens and Wes Palazzi and offensive captain Bernard Jackson. The four had missed all or some of the previous 11 practices because of academic commitments.

Helfrich said the absences left the players "probably two full practices behind" because of the accelerated "early install" of offensive sets during camp as compared with last year.

Jackson's fit in the offense will be determined "when we see how the receiver and tailback battles settle out," Helfrich said. "I can see slotting him at both places."

Jackson, the quarterback in 11 games last season, said he doesn't feel behind and is "not worried about being the center of attention on the team. I want the young guys — (tailback) Brian Lockridge, all the young receivers — to get in and make plays.

"I'm happy with my role, helping guys learn the offense, correcting them when they make mistakes and taking that leadership role."

Faatagi, who hasn't been in a game in nearly 18 months (a knee injury sidelined him in 2006), said his goal is to "work the rest of this week, have a good scrimmage, have a good last week of camp, and, hopefully, I'll be out there at Invesco (Field at Mile High on Sept. 1 against Colorado State)."

He said he has lost at least 40 pounds since arriving at CU and currently weighs 315, 5 pounds below his high school playing weight.

"I've had all this time off," he said. "Hopefully, I can come back and surprise some people."

CLEAN IT UP, DUDE: Dan Hawkins has the makings of a training- camp beard, but probably not for long.

When he was coach of Boise State, Hawkins said he was unkempt on a visit to a local gas station, eliciting this response from the attendant: " 'Coach 'Hawk,' are you all right? You look like heck.'

"I told my wife, 'Now I've got to take a shower to go to the gas station.' Sometimes it's fun to just be down and dirty a little bit."

ETC.: Two freshman walk-ons, kicker Jim Parra (Regis) and offensive lineman Travis Duffy (Columbine) have left the team. . . . Redshirt freshman tight end Nate Solder, at nearly 6-foot-9 the team's tallest player, has taken advantage of a shoulder injury that limited the work of senior Tyson DeVree. Solder, of Buena Vista, weighs 265, with 2.9 percent body fat. Dan Hawkins believes, in time, Solder could easily play at 280. . . . The second practice was a walk-through from 8-10 p.m. designed to replicate two night kickoffs in September — 8:15 at Arizona State (Sept. 8) and 8 against Florida State (Sept. 15).

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466