McKenzie Mathews is apparently having a little trouble adjusting to college and being away from home.

Heralded freshman defensive end McKenzie Mathews has left the Pitt football team, but the coaches are hopeful they can convince him to return. If he does not return, it would be a tough loss for the Panthers’ defensive line, not just for this year but also for the future.

“He’s been excused for personal reasons,” Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said. “I’m really not going to get into it any more than that right now because I’m still optimistic. We’ve had conversations, his brother was down today and we’ve had several conversations with his mom. I think he just needs little bit of time, and we’ll see where that goes.”

Mathews is one of the highest-rated defensive linemen the Panthers signed and was one of Wannstedt’s most-coveted recruits. Pitt ultimately won a recruiting battle for Mathews, beating out Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame.

Coaches raved about Mathews ability after the first three days of practice, and he was likely on his way to landing a spot on the two-deep at defensive end, but he did not practice the past two days. Mathews, from Syracuse, N.Y., is still at Pitt, but he told some of his teammates earlier this week that he was homesick.

From that, it would seem his family seems to think he will get over it with a little time. Hopefully he will be okay soon. If he were to decide to transfer closer to home — say Syracuse — there is no way Pitt would release him. He’d have to sit out the year without a doubt.

The running game looked strong, as multiple backs made big plays. Brandon Mason and Shane Brooks both had very good days. Oderick Turner seems to be ahead of the pack to be either starting with Kinder or being the 3rd WR on the depth chart. There was also an opening drill to fire up the team.

In their first practice in pads, the Panthers circled around their biggest recruits – literally and figuratively – for an abbreviated Oklahoma drill.

It featured 6-foot-7, 340-pound left tackle Jeff Otah against 6-5, 315-pound defensive tackle Jason Pinkston.

“We wanted to get it off on the right foot, and we did,” Wannstedt said. “That type of energy and excitement is what it’s all about.”

Pinkston won the battle of the bulge, getting underneath Otah’s pads and knocking him backwards.

“Pinkston actually probably got the better (of Otah), but the way he finished practice, he must have used up all his energy on that one play,” Wannstedt said. “I wish he would have saved a little for the inside run.”

That problem on the D-line means that the linebackers will be looking to help more.

The Panthers’ problems against the run started up front with an inexperienced defensive line, but Session admits the linebackers didn’t make enough plays, either. That is something he and his teammates are determined to correct.

“When you can’t stop the run, you feel helpless,” Session said. “An offense can do what they want to you. But we feel like this year we have the best linebacking corps in the nation, and it is our job to shut that run game down. You come off a 5-6 record, you’ve got so much to prove to the world. … Us being run on is a thing of the past.”

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The Panthers have had a shortage of gamebreakers on defense, but Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt believes Session will change that this year. Session always has been viewed as a player with great potential, but it wasn’t until late last season that he began to realize it.

Coaches expect Blades to play at a higher level than he has in the past because the other linebackers around him are better. Wannstedt would like to see Blades’ tackle totals cut because he carried too much of the load last season, when he had 121 tackles.

“The thing about Clint is he really understands it now — you can’t just run around the field and look to hit everyone wearing a different color uniform,” Pitt defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said.

By the end of training camp, you can expect to be sick of hearing about Pitt’s issues with running the ball and stopping the run. Unfortunately, those are the most glaring issues and biggest questions.

Today is the first 2-a-day and a controlled scrimmage.