Virginia Tech coach Brent Pry updates status of running back Malachi Thomas | Virginia Tech

A Hokies spokesperson said an “academic commitment” forced Thomas to miss the team’s media day last week as well as a practice later that afternoon.

They said he was just “unavailable” to attend Friday’s practice — other injured players including Jadan Blue and Stephen Gosnell watched from the sidelines — and his absence at fan day was described the same way.

Tech coach Brent Pry gave an update on Thomas’ status after Wednesday’s practice and said he’s “week by week.”

“He’s in meetings, he’s in camp, he’s very involved, he’s getting treatment and rehab, and I’m excited about the year Malachi could still have,” Pry said.

Pry didn’t rule him out playing the opener against ODU on Sept. 2 either.

“It’s week to week, we got a couple weeks left,” Pry said. “Obviously we hope he could, but I’ll leave that up to the docs.”

Pry previously labeled Thomas as the front-runner for the starting job throughout the offseason with offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen and running backs coach Stu Holt describing the competition at the position the same way.

Thomas was one of the team’s bright spots last fall with 440 rushing yards (4.7 yards per carry) with three touchdowns as a true freshman. He had back-to-back 100-yard performances at midseason and came close to a third straight with 70 yards against Boston College.

The Georgia native told reporters earlier this month that he was up to 203 pounds with that added muscle helping provide some protection to the hits he takes in practice.

“I notice you’ve kind of got to have size up here in the big leagues,” Thomas said. “Because you’ve just got to take care of your body. And I’ve got to be able to take on some tough hits. I can feel a difference. Whenever I take contact, I notice I’m able to stand up and not go down as easily.”

Tech veteran running back Jalen Holston was the primary back with the first-team offense in Thomas’ absence. The new staff is also high on the versatility Keshawn King and Chance Black bring to the position.

Holt anticipates using up to four running backs on a weekly basis with the distribution of carries dependent on how each performs. The other two scholarship backs on the Hokies roster this fall are redshirt freshman Kenji Christian and mid-year enrollee Bryce Duke.

“We see it as the guy that’s getting it done is going to get the opportunity,” Holt said, at media day. “They got to take care of the football number one, we got to retain possession. We are not going to block them all, a guy that can make guys miss, a guy that can have yards after contact. He has to be able to stay on the field and protect to keep the quarterback upright. The guy that is the most consistent in those areas is going to be out there the majority of the time.”