Pat Bostick will return to Pitt's football camp by early next week according to his father, Pat Bostick Sr.

Bostick, the Panthers' heralded freshman quarterback from Manheim Township, left the team Monday and returned to his home in Lancaster in order to deal with what were described as "personal issues."

Bostick's father said his son is doing well and will continue to work through some things this week but will be ready to return to the field shortly.

"I'd expect he'll be back at camp by the beginning of next week, absolutely," Bostick Sr. said yesterday. "I can assure you that this had nothing to do with being homesick or a girlfriend issue or anything like that -- Pat needed some time to get in the right frame of mind and this is an important time for him. Pat was not happy about leaving camp, it is not what he wanted to do, but we all agreed it would be the best thing for him at this point.

"I really believe in the long run, taking this time will be very good for him and he'll be in a much better place when he returns."

Bostick Sr. said that his son will return to the field as soon as he returns to campus and will continue his usual practice routine. He also said transferring or quitting aren't options.

"Pat loves Pitt, he loves the coaching staff and he loves his teammates," he said. "He has enjoyed his time out there and the coaching staff has been very supportive of him and our family through this time. He is very eager to get back out there and return to playing football. He is gung ho about getting back to Pitt and being a part of that program and he'll back soon, and when he does return he'll be ready to go."

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he's encouraged by what he has heard from Bostick's family and his high school coach, and reiterated that his top priority is making sure Bostick is OK.

"We've had conversations with his high school coach and I know Pat met with his coach [yesterday], but we're just taking it one day at a time," Wannstedt said. "As I said before, the most important thing for us is to get Pat settled back in and comfortable, but if and when he shows up we'll cross that [football] bridge and go from there."

Bostick, who threw for 7,259 yards in high school and was the Pennsylvania Gatorade player of the year last season, was expected to compete for the starting quarterback job with junior Bill Stull.