When Louisville takes the field tonight for its annual spring game, the focus for most fans will be on the quarterbacks, where three players are vying for the starting job and a fourth is rehabbing a knee injury and waiting in the wings.

For head coach Bobby Petrino, however, the field is where most of the intrigue ends. He’s eager to see how his quarterbacks handle the build-up to that first snap.

“We’ll be vanilla in the game part of it, but I look at it as an opportunity to get ready to play,” Petrino said. “How do they go about the final practice, taking a test, leading up into the locker room? How do they handle the walk-through? All of those are the best thing about the spring game. They go through a routine that we’ll have in the fall and get more experience with it, show leadership.”

In other words, every detail of the competition will be evaluated -- just as each practice has pushed Reggie Bonnafon, Tyler Ferguson and Kyle Bolin this spring -- but if you’re hoping to hear an announcement on Louisville’s starter once the spring game is over, don’t hold your breath.

With Will Gardner still sidelined, the competition hasn’t even reached critical mass yet, and Petrino said he’s in no hurry to settle on an official depth chart.

“I think we wait,” Petrino said. “I’ve always wanted to have a starter named a couple weeks before the opening game so they get two weeks to prepare and we get two weeks to build the offense around them.”

Still, this spring has produced some insight on the four quarterbacks vying for snaps. Here’s what we’ve learned.

Gardner: Recovering from his third serious knee injury, Gardner’s spring has been limited to rehabbing and coaching from the sideline. Still, offensive coordinator Garrick McGee has hinted a healthy Gardner is still likely Louisville’s best option, and Petrino said he’s been encouraged by how his veteran quarterback has handled himself this spring. “He’s been out there with the other quarterbacks going through what the defense is, what the coverages are,” Petrino said. “It’s fun to see he has the experience running the plays.”

Bonnafon: Just a few days after 2014 ended, Bonnafon was in McGee’s office formulating a plan to improve for spring practice. The effort has shown up on the field, where the sophomore looks far more comfortable going through his progressions and his footwork has taken a clear step forward. The reviews on Bonnafon have been extremely positive so far, but he also had the farthest to go as a pocket passer -- skills Petrino’s offense will require. “You see his experience this spring,” Petrino said. “He’s getting better. We’re still playing to his strengths, but we’re challenging him to make the deep throws, be more accurate, be more consistent with his footwork. He’s a really coachable kid and works hard every day to get better.”

Bolin: After ending 2014 strong with a win over Kentucky in relief duty and his lone start of the season in the bowl, there’s definitely a lot more confidence for Bolin this spring. “I went through a dark time early in the season and last spring, just with confidence and not really knowing what I was capable of doing,” Bolin said. “Getting that game experience, dealing with the pressure of a game, it really boosted my confidence higher than I could imagine. It’s made me a little harder on myself.” Bolin might be Louisville’s best deep-ball passer (he averaged 9.2 yards-per-attempt last season), and with a bevy of tall-but-inexperienced receivers, that could be a valuable weapon in the Cards’ arsenal.

Ferguson: After transferring from Penn State following the 2013 season, Ferguson spent last season on the bench as a redshirt -- a time that allowed him to get a better handle on Petrino’s playbook. “Last year, the young guys scrimmages helped a lot, and a lot of it you just take upon yourself and study,” Ferguson said. “And as this spring went on, I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the offense.” The early reports out of spring practice pegged Ferguson as perhaps the likely front-runner, and while that enthusiasm may have been a bit premature, his status as a savvy pocket passer certainly fits with Petrino’s scheme.