There have been temper flareups, lackluster efforts and nagging injuries having dampened a few of the sessions.

But everything came together Tuesday morning, coach Bronco Mendenhall said, calling the 95-minute workout "the best of camp so far."

It could be that the Cougars see that the end of camp is in sight.

They will have a scrimmage on Wednesday (10 a.m.) at LaVell Edwards Stadium to mark the end of fall camp. No practice will be held Thursday, and on Friday the team will start preparations for Northern Iowa.

"The practice overall, both sides, was the sharpest of camp to this point," Mendenhall said. "I think it was the most physical, I think it was the sharpest, the most competitive, and execution on both sides was the highest."

In 11-on-11 scrimmages Tuesday, the Cougars worked on two-minute drills and overtime periods.

Again, the defense mostly shined, and the offense was only able to reach the end zone once -- on a short pass from Max Hall to Fui Vakapuna.

Mendenhall said the defense -- considered the weaker of the two units when camp began -- has made great strides.

"Mostly from the continuity in the secondary, from a lot of plays not being made -- and position being decent -- to more plays being made," he said.

The star in that respect, then, was safety David Tafuna, who has missed recent practices with a mild concussion. He batted away three passes on one possession alone.

"I feel good about the defensive front, too," Mendenhall said.

Ian Dulan, a projected starter at left defensive end, missed practice again with a painful shoulder, and Mendenhall said that Brett Denney has "probably" replaced Dulan on the depth chart.

The other big battle among the defenders for a starting position is at inside linebacker, where Shawn Doman and Matt Ah You are dueling.

Doman ran with the ones on Tuesday, although Ah You had the biggest hit of the day, leveling backup receiver Landon Jaussi after the sophomore ran a route over the middle.

In other news Tuesday:

* Mendenhall announced that offensive lineman Tom Sorensen is still feeling pain in his right shoulder and will undergo "diagnostic orthopedic surgery" in an attempt to discover what is wrong. He will be out for six weeks or so.

* Both kickers -- Justin Sorensen and Mitch Payne -- struggled in pre-scrimmage kicking drills, and Mendenhall said he probably won't pick a starter until the middle of next week.