Apparently Todd Thomas will meet directly with Coach Chryst to discuss terms of his surrender return.

Thomas, who was planning to meet with Chryst on Thursday, is scheduled to graduate from Pitt in December with a degree in administration of justice.

Coach Chryst said after Thursday’s practice that he had no news despite reports of Thomas returning.

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Closer to full pads. Closer to full contact. The shoulder pads went on and the effects of three straight days of practice are starting to hit the players.

Freshman offensive tackle Dorian Johnson said after practice that he actually felt better following the shoulder pads-only practice than he did after the non-pad practices.

“I don’t feel as bad as I did yesterday,” he said Thursday afternoon.

Of course, Johnson sputtered out that sentence in between gulps of air, and the freshman from Belle Vernon was more than a little winded as he walked off the field. Johnson has been “double-shifting,” working on the second team and third team at right tackle since Pitt doesn’t quite have enough tackles to fill three full shifts.

That doesn’t mean Johnson is bemoaning the workload, though.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s worth it. I get extra reps. I’m not complaining about that.”

No doubt because Johnson has his sights set on grabbing the starting right tackle job.

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