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Oklahoma QB Justice Hansen decides to transfer

Oklahoma’s quarterback competition just reduced from four to three.

Justice Hansen, a redshirt freshman from Edmond, Okla., announced Wednesday that he’s transferring from the program.

Hansen was part of a four-man quarterback competition with Trevor Knight, Baker Mayfield and Cody Thomas for the Sooners in the spring. He went 5-for-5 for 70 yards in the team’s spring game, but saw the smallest amount of playing time of the four candidates.

According to SoonerScoop.com, Hansen, a four-star recruit in the 2014 class, informed the Oklahoma staff of his plans in a meeting on Tuesday. He also “met with (head coach) Bob Stoops Wednesday morning to solidify all the terms of his transfer and release.”

"We have met with Justice and certainly understand his desire to explore options that might provide him with more opportunity," Stoops said in a statement. "He has our full support. He has been an outstanding team member and will make someone a good quarterback. We will give him a full release so he can transfer with no restrictions."

With Hansen out of the picture, Knight, Mayfield and Thomas are the only three scholarship quarterbacks on Oklahoma’s roster. Knight, known for his standout performance against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, has the most experience of the group. He entered the 2014 campaign as the team’s starter, but went down with an injury late in the year (he returned for the Citrus Bowl) and was replaced by Thomas. Knight had 78 yards and an interception on 6-of-13 throwing in the spring game.

In Thomas’ three starts, he completed just 46 percent of his passes and threw for two touchdowns and four interceptions. He also completed 5-of-12 passes for 82 yards and an interception in the spring game.

Mayfield sat out the 2014 season after transferring from Texas Tech, where he threw for 2,315 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a true freshman. Mayfield threw for 176 yards and a touchdown on 10-of-13 throwing in the spring game, but he also threw two interceptions.

After the spring game, Stoops was pleased with the group’s progress and said he wasn’t worried about the spring game interceptions.

“They’ve had a nice spring again in their reads and what they’re doing with the ball,” Stoops said. “I think they were definitely putting some balls up that when it’s practice it’s no big deal, but when you’re in game-type situations it’s a bigger deal. They’ll learn from it. This isn’t indicative of what I’ve seen all spring. I’ve been pleased with what they’ve been doing all spring.”

The competition will continue into the fall.

For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!