Often, the most difficult part of returning from a major injury is playing without fear of re-injury.

For Pitt redshirt junior defensive end Doug Fulmer, that challenge has been doubly difficult because he has missed nearly two seasons because of injuries.

But Fulmer hasn't looked like a player who is afraid to get hurt this spring.

"Doug is fine, the mental part is not a concern," Pitt defensive line coach Greg Gattuso said. "If you watch him, sometimes the thing we have to be most concerned about is that he is a little too excited to get out there. We need to slow him down. He's missed a lot of games, but he has been outstanding this spring.

"He is one of the hardest-working, blue-collar guys on the team. And a lot of times when you say that, you are talking about a guy who lacks some athleticism or speed -- with Doug, that's not at all the case, which is why he is where he is."

Fulmer will be one of three players, the other two being sophomore Jabaal Sheard and redshirt sophomore Greg Romeus, who will play the majority of the snaps at the two end spots. He has been one of the more dominating defensive players throughout most of spring.

Fulmer's first injury was a broken ankle, which happened in the Citadel game in 2006. That ended his season. After working hard to get back into shape, the ACL in his right knee was torn last spring, and he missed all last season.

He said sitting out for two seasons has been tough but he didn't miss any team meetings or film sessions and worked with Gattuso some during this offseason in hopes of catching up.

"The mental thing is not an issue," said Fulmer, who sat out yesterday with a little swelling in his right knee.

"To me, the toughest thing was learning some of the new techniques and trying to catch up with the actual playing of the position. But I am fine, I'm ready."

Gattuso added: "Here's a guy who hasn't played in two years, and he took ownership to make sure he didn't fall behind. That tells you a lot about him, and we need him to have a big year and we're glad he is back."

Fulmer, from Syracuse, N.Y., is a likely to get a sixth season of eligibility, which means he could have three seasons remaining. And if he does not get the redshirt, he, Romeus and Sheard will be together for two more seasons.

"We're young, but we're experienced in a lot of ways," Fulmer said. "The great thing about our defensive line is we're only going to keep getting better and better. I know the foundation was laid in that last game [the upset of West Virginia], but that is just the start for us."

NOTES --The Panthers will have their final tune-up today before the Blue-Gold game next week when they have their second scrimmage. Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt said he hopes to go about 90 plays and expects to get a good look at some of the younger players. Two he mentioned specifically -- redshirt freshmen running backs Henry Hynoski and Shariff Harris. ... Tight end Dorin Dickerson continues to have an impressive spring, and yesterday he made several big-time catches and drew the praise of Wannstedt. "He keeps showing up and making plays. He is a doing a great job of catching the ball for us."