After two weeks, Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter finally addressed the pending departure of top returning receiver Jalen Saunders.

DeRuyter briefly spoke on the topic during a private gathering of Bulldogs fans the other week, apparently, but never to the media until Tuesday's teleconference of Mountain West Conference football coaches.

"Jalen and I had a conversation with he and his father," DeRuyter said. "He's decided that another program would be in his best interest. We wish him well."

The comments were far from earth shattering, obviously. But it does pretty much eliminate the notion that Saunders could still return to the Bulldogs.

Saunders, by the way, has been a little cryptic in his tweets of late but appears to be visiting some schools. He might even have a final destination chosen soon.

Fresno State will hold an actual scrimmage for Sunday's scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium with the team divided into two squads -- not just offense vs. defense.

Running back Robbie Rouse and Phillip Thomas will pick the teams, with coaches devising a formula to prevent either squad from loading up on certain positions. Rouse and Thomas will hold their draft Friday.

The scrimmage will last four quarters and use a running clock and an officiating crew. The scrimmage is scheduled to start at noon.

**Fresno State's football practice Saturday has been moved up a half hour and will now start at 8:30 a.m, the school announced Friday evening.

**Fresno State guard Matt Hunt looks like he's going to be out a long time, perhaps the rest of spring camp.

Hunt showed up to Bulldogs practice on Friday hobbling on crutches and with a big brace-like device around his left leg. The exact extent of the injury remains unclear because Fresno State did not allow any interviews Friday (non-interview day scheduled prior to camp).

Hunt has started parts of the past two seasons at left guard, including seven games as a starter last season. But he's also been missed a good chunk of time, most notably three games because of injury last season and a fourth game from a suspension by the athletic department.

Max Devlin was receiving first-team reps this week even before Hunt went down.

**Quarterback Kelly O'Brien has not practiced this week and it's unclear what his status is, too. O'Brien, the third-string quarterback last season, practiced last week but seemed to be losing third-team reps to freshman Marcus McDade. Greg Watson has been taking second-team reps in the spring, just as he did last season behind starter Derek Carr. Last month, Fresno State signed quarterback Myles Carr.

**Fresno State receiver Josh Harper made an impressive catch amid traffic, and received props from Derek Carr. But it didn't seem like a good day for Bulldogs receivers in general on Friday. Or the quarterbacks for that matter. Carr threw back-to-back incomplete passes that were nowhere close to a receiver. Davante Adams cut behind instead of in front of a defensive back, which led to an incomplete pass. Victor Dean still seems to be struggling with the playbook, so much so that receivers coach Ron Antoine would stand right behind the 6-foot-5 WR to make sure he knew the play and was lined up properly during scrimmage no-huddle session. Watson also didn't seem too full control of the offense. At one point, offensive coordinator Dave Schramm yelled "Lets hike the ball sometime today."

But overall, Fresno State's offense seemed to operate with a little more tempo and Schramm also praised the Bulldogs for that. Still, it's been a rough week for Fresno State's offense.

**Michael Butler provided two nice catches on back-to-back passes. Butler, formerly a tight end, has been lining up as a slot receiver with the Bulldogs no longer using a tight end in their spread system.

**Cornerback L.J. Jones, who has been recovering from injury and not participating in spring practices, seems very eager to get involved. He continued to step onto the field and try to motivate the defense.

**Defensive end Anthony Williams continues to look good at spring camp, often among the first to get near the ball carrier.

**Nat Harrison has been receiving first-team reps at weakside linebacker. Harrison is one of three players converting to outside linebacker after playing defensive end last year.

The Fresno State football team held its sixth spring practice today.

*** Fresno State offensive lineman Matt Hunt, a starter last season, was limited in practice Thursday because of an unspecified injury, coach Tim DeRuyter said.

The 6-foot-2, 315-pound Hunt has been practicing with the second team and 6-foot-3, 275-pound Max Devlin has been getting the first-team reps at left guard. Fresno State's depth chart, however, remains in flux.

*** For the second straight practice, the defense seemed to dominate during scrimmage sessions. The offense fumbled a couple of times and had several missed assignments.

"The defense is doing a great job, but we're really our own worst enemy right now," offensive coordinator Dave Schramm said. "We need to learn how to play faster and get lined up right and execute.

"We've got a bunch of good guys, great effort, great attitudes. They just have to learn how to play differently than how they played before. We're not anywhere close where we need to be, but we've got a lot of time before the fall. We'll be fine."

*** Fresno State brought out a officiating crew Thursday, particularly so the offense could get used to operating without a huddle under a time constraint with officials tracking the play clock and eyeing illegal formations.

"Just trying to get them used to playing at tempo and with numerous reps in a row at a high tempo," DeRuyter said. "It's something we have to work toward and get those guys used to, so it's a natural thing. offense is tempo and timing. We weren't in the same rhythm we need to be."

New Fresno State football coach Tim DeRuyter said Thursday that his coaching staff is nearing completion and he expects to make an announcement next week.

DeRuyter, who replaced the fired Pat Hill in mid-December but was preoccupied most of last month while finishing out his duties as Texas A&M's interim head coach, still has three assistant vacancies to fill, all of which are on the offensive side.

DeRuyter hired six assistants earlier this month, including offensive coordinator Dave Schram and defensive coordinator Nick Toth. Still to be filled are Fresno State's offensive line, running backs and receivers coaches.

DeRuyter is preparing for his first group of recruits who'll take official on-campus visits at Fresno State this weekend.

Cliff Harris, the former Edison High standout and Oregon All-American cornerback, attended the Rose Bowl last month to watch the Ducks take on Wisconsin. Harris has been keeping a very low profile since he was kicked off Oregon in early December for violating team rules again.

Down by three with 1:41 remaining, Fresno State threw four straight incomplete passes to seal its fate and a losing season.

Quarterback Derek Carr said he was trying to expose New Mexico State's linebackers by throwing to running back Robbie Rouse. When that got disrupted from New Mexico State's sudden pass rushing late in the game, Carr started targeting his receivers on the outside. That didn't work well either.

"I've got to do better," Carr said. "I've got to give them a better ball on one. I got hit on another. It's just little things. We've all got to get better, myself included."

More notes from New Mexico State.

Maybe it came from frustration of years never beating Fresno State.

Perhaps it's because Fresno State is leaving the Western Athletic Conference for the Mountain West next year.

Or it could've been because the game was quite emotional and sometimes physical.

Whatever the reason, a few New Mexico State players were so riled up from the Aggies' 48-45 win against the Bulldogs that they started cursing as at Fresno State players and coaches and yelled for them to get off the field - this in the middle of the post-game handshakes.

A couple of Fresno State assistants turned around to see who was cursing and perhaps making sure no fights were about to break out. When they saw it was just a couple of New Mexico State players mouthing off, they rolled their eyes and went back to walking toward the locker room.

The mood immediately afterward

Fresno State coach Pat Hill lighting shut the locker room door after entering and said a few quick words to the players and coaches.

His post-game speech following Fresno State's 48-45 loss at New Mexico State didn't last long as Hill came back out within a couple of minutes - maybe five minutes at most.

Then, he sat down a the curb railing just outside of the Bulldogs locker room and lounged forward for a good long while.

Hill had said Fresno State's 2006 season when the Bulldogs finished 4-8 was the most difficult of his tenure. But he might reassess his response after Saturday.

Before quarterback Derek Carr ever committed to Fresno State, he thought about playing for Boise State.

The Broncos, after all, were one of the first schools to recruit Carr while he played high school football in Texas.