Kenny Pickett (American football)

Kenneth Shane Pickett (born June 6, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Pittsburgh, where he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as a senior, and was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Kenny Pickett
Pickett with the Pittsburgh Panthers in 2020
No. 8 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1998-06-06) June 6, 1998
Oakhurst, New Jersey
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Ocean Township (Oakhurst)
College:Pittsburgh (2017–2021)
NFL Draft:2022 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20
Career history
Roster status:Unsigned draft pick
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Pickett was born on June 6, 1998, in Oakhurst, New Jersey.[1] He attended Ocean Township High School.[2] Pickett led the Ocean Township Spartans to the New Jersey Central Group III semifinal game as a junior, leading his team to a 9-2 record.[3] 247Sports ranked Pickett as the No. 23 overall high school football player in New Jersey in his senior year.[4] During his career, he passed for 4,670 yards with 43 touchdowns and rushed for 873 yards and 17 touchdowns. He originally committed to play college football at Temple University, but changed the commitment to the University of Pittsburgh.[5]

College career

2017 season
See also: 2017 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Pickett spent most of his true freshman season at Pittsburgh in 2017 as a backup to Max Browne and Ben DiNucci. He started his first career game in Pittsburgh's final game of the season against the second ranked Miami Hurricanes. During the team's upset victory, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 193 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns.[6] Overall, for the season he completed 39 of 66 passes for 509 yards, one touchdown and one interception.[7][8]

2018 season
See also: 2018 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Pickett returned as Pittsburgh's starter in 2018.[9][10] He started all 14 games, completing 180 of 310 passes for 1,969 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.[11] Pickett led the Panthers to their first ever ACC Coastal Division Championship in his first season as the full-time starter. [3]The Associated Press ranked the Panthers as high as the No. 24 team in the country at one point in the 2018 season.[12] The Pittsburgh Panthers went on to lose 14-13 to Stanford in the Sun Bowl.[13]

2019 season
See also: 2019 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Pickett was again the starter in 2019, making 12 starts and missing one game due to injury. He completed 289 of 469 passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions.[14] This was Pickett's first season with Mark Whipple acting as the offensive coordinator, who increased the amount of passes the offense threw each week. He led the Panthers to a 7-5 record heading into the postseason. The Panthers were selected to the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Michigan and defeated Eastern Michigan 34-30. Pickett threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, including a game winning touchdown to wide receiver Taysir Mack in the final minutes of the game.

2020 season
See also: 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

Pickett and the Panthers participated in a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going 6-5. Pickett played in nine games and threw for 2,408 yards and 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions in that stretch.[15] The Associated Press ranked the Panthers as high as the No. 21 team in the country at one point in the 2020 season.[12] Despite being eligible for a bowl game, the Panthers collectively decided to opt out of participating in the postseason.[16]

2021 season
See also: 2021 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The NCAA granted all 2020 fall athletes an extra year of eligibility, and Pickett used this option to return as the Panthers' starting quarterback in 2021.[17]

Pickett took advantage of his final year of eligibility and broke out as one of the nation’s top players. He recorded 4,319 yards and 42 touchdown setting school records for single season yards and touchdowns as well as career yards and touchdowns.[18] Pickett was named a first team All-American and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy finishing in 3rd place.[19] Pittsburgh won the ACC Championship and finished 11-2 in games Pickett started, the schools best record since 1976.[20] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing and enrolled at Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.[21]

College statistics
Season Games Passing Rushing
GPGSRecordCmpAttYdsPctTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2017 411–0396650959.111125.826983.60
2018 14147–71803101,96958.1126120.31172201.93
2019 12128–42894693,09861.6139122.4951101.22
2020 996–32033322,40861.1139129.6811451.88
2021 131311–23344974,31967.2427165.3982332.45
Career[22]524933–161,0451,67412,30362.48132136.34178011.920

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 3+1⁄4 in
(1.91 m)		 217 lb
(98 kg)		 30+7⁄8 in
(0.78 m)		 8+1⁄2 in
(0.22 m)		4.73 s1.56 s2.67 s4.29 s33.5 in
(0.85 m)		10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)
All values from NFL Combine[23][24]

Various journalists scrutinized Pickett prior to the draft for the size of his hands, measured at 8½ inches, believing it could make him more prone to fumbling the ball.[25] He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round (20th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.[26] It was the latest the first quarterback in a draft was taken since 1997.[27]

References
  1. "Kenny Pickett - Football - Pitt Panthers #H2P". Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. Edelson, Stephen (September 8, 2016). "HS Football: Pitt-bound QB Kenny Pickett now Ocean's leader". Asbury Park Press.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Kenny Pickett - Football". Pitt Panthers #H2P. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  4. "Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Panthers, Quarterback". 247Sports. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  5. DiPaola, Jerry (June 4, 2016). "New Jersey QB Pickett commits to Pitt". TribLIVE.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Meyer, Craig (November 24, 2017). "Pitt's freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett makes winning impression in first career start". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Edelson, Stephen (August 14, 2018). "Edelson: Ocean Township's Pickett looks to make history at Pitt". Asbury Park Press.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. Batko, Brian (April 13, 2018). "Kenny Pickett is the Conor McGregor of Pitt football. In his head, at least". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Berman, Mark (August 2, 2018). "ACC football 2018: Pittsburgh turns to QB Kenny Pickett". Roanoke Times.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "Kenny Pickett enters season firmly in charge at Pittsburgh". USA TODAY. August 9, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. McGonigal, John (July 10, 2019). "Pitt QB Kenny Pickett bonds with Peyton Manning at offseason camp". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Pitt Panthers Football Record By Year". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  13. "Stanford Claims Fourth Sun Bowl Victory". sunbowl.org. December 31, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. DiPaola, Jerry (September 16, 2020). "Pat Narduzzi labels Pitt's Kenny Pickett 'the most underrated quarterback in the country'". TribLIVE.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. "Kenny Pickett College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  16. Wilson, Mike (2020-12-11). "Pitt announces it will abstain from postseason play in 2020". Cardiac Hill. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  17. Coppola, Dalton (2021-06-24). "Kenny Pickett, preparing for final campaign, isn't ready to leave Pittsburgh just yet". The Pitt News. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  18. "Pitt Panthers Passing".
  19. "Kenny Pickett College Stats".
  20. "Pitt Panthers Football Record by Year".
  21. "Kenny Pickett - Football - Pitt Panthers #H2P". Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  22. "Kenny Pickett College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  23. "Kenny Pickett Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  24. "2022 Draft Scout Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  25. "Kenny Pickett's hands measure 8 1/2 inches, smaller than any QB currently in NFL". espn.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  26. "Steelers select Kenny Pickett in the first round". www.steelers.com. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  27. DeArdo, Bryan. "2022 NFL Draft: Steelers pick Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall; the latest the first QB of the draft was taken in 25 years". CBS Sports. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
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