Pat Hill and the Fresno State coaching staff began spring practice with an open tryout at the quarterback position and four candidates in the running.

Now, the battle has been cut down to three.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Faulkner will be transferring from Fresno State at the end of the academic semester and will be pursuing a starting quarterback spot at another university.

He was fourth on the depth chart and did not see many repetitions in the spring practices.

Quarterbacks Ryan Colburn and Derek Carr are receiving the majority of the reps, with Ebahn Feathers seeing time on specially designed quarterback run plays.

Faulkner did not dress for Saturday’s scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium, but he was on the offense’s sideline.

Faulkner said that the decision to transfer was made after his meeting with Hill early last week to discuss his future with the team. Hill told him that he would not be starting for the Bulldogs come fall, but wanted Faulkner to remain on the team as a backup.

“Coach Hill just said that there was no real definitive quality that stuck out about me,” Faulkner said.

The native Texan said that the meeting with Hill was brief. After their discussion, Faulkner talked with his family and together, they determined that he would be better off transferring to another program.

“Certain quarterbacks have certain qualities and talents,” Faulkner said. “I just believe mine will be better used elsewhere.”

Faulkner was in a full-spread styled offense at Marcus High School in Highland Valley, Texas. The pro-style offense that Fresno State runs hasn’t worked well with his playing style and never seemed like a good fit.

Now, Faulkner will be hoping to transfer to a spread offense system with the hopes of making an impact and possibly starting. He said that Hill has been supportive through the process and will even help him find a new school.

“There is no burned bridge here, like most kids who transfer,” Faulkner said.

According to Hill, multiple programs have shown interest in the 6-foot-2 signal- caller, including Southern Methodist (SMU) in Dallas.

Former Fresno State linebackers coach Tom Mason, is the defensive coordinator for the Mustangs. And June Jones, former Hawaii head coach and spread offense guru, runs SMU’s offense.

The Mustangs had difficulties in 2008 at the quarterback position. The starter for the majority of the season, Bo Levi Mitchell, threw 24 touchdown passes, but also had 23 interceptions. SMU finished with a 1-11 record in Jones’ first season.