Tom Ricketts leaves Pitt football team

Lost a bit in the transfer of Dontez Ford to Pitt this week was that offensive lineman Tom Ricketts has apparently hung up his cleats. Buried a bit in an article about Ford was this nugget from the Trib's Jerry DiPaola:

Also, former North Allegheny offensive lineman Tom Ricketts, who missed this season with a shoulder injury, has informed the Pitt coaching staff that he won‘t return to the team this year.

Ricketts, a four-star recruit in 2010, sat out the ‘11 season after transferring from Penn State. He remains a student at Pitt.

No official word yet, but I'm wondering if part of it could have been related to the shoulder injury he sustained last year before the season began.

Hated to see that. Ricketts' career never really got off the ground and I was expecting him to compete for a line spot. After the transfer from Penn State, he'd gone a bit under the radar. Even more disappointing is that Pitt's line hasn't been all that great. And with Chris Jacobson and Ryan Turnley moving on, a little bit more opportunity could have been floating around there. With a couple years of eligibility left, I was a bit surprised to hear this.

The good thing is that he's apparently still remaining at Pitt to get his education. Best of luck to him in his post-football life.