Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter announced Friday morning via a university release that junior offensive lineman Patrick Kim is ending his college football career.

Kim, a junior-college transfer, will remain at Fresno State under a medical hardship scholarship which does not count against the NCAA-allotted 85 for football.

Kim, who suffered a neck injury during spring practice is ending his career under doctor’s recommendation.

Medical evaluation and testing after the injury showed an increased risk of further injuries.

“What it allowed us to do was do a MRI and actually see the anatomy and it’s kind of a rare thing, but unfortunately it happened,” said DeRuyter.

“The good news is that we caught it before something traumatic happened and we’re going to try to do whatever we can to keep Patrick involved in our program either as a student coach or some type of other role because he’s a great kid. It just hurts when those kind of things happen.”

Kim transferred from Mount San Antonio College this spring and was expected to bring depth and competition to a thinning offensive line. Kim first walked on to the USC football in 2010, but did not play.