Kenny Pickett Of Pittsburgh Was Picked, Selected In The First Round As The Twentieth Pick In The 2022 NFL Draft By The Pittsburgh Steelers

As a freshman in 2017 at Pittsburgh Kenny Pickett,

Played in four games, making one start as a true freshman…completed 39-of-66 passes (59%) for 509 yards with one touchdown and one interception on the year…also rushed for 93 yards on 26 carries (3.6 avg.) with two TDs…lone starting assignment was the regular-season finale, a 24-14 win over No. 2 Miami…became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Pitt since Pat Bostick in 2007…honored as the ACC Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Hurricanes…was responsible for all three Pitt touchdowns in the Miami win, rushing for two and throwing for another…completed 18-of-29 passes (62%) for 193 yards with zero interceptions and was also Pitt's second-leading rusher with 60 yards on 13 carries (4.6 avg.)…Pickett's six-yard touchdown rush gave the Panthers a 10-7 lead right before intermission…late in the third quarter he connected with Qadree Ollison on a five-yard shovel pass to increase the advantage to 17-7…Pickett's final TD proved to be the clincher—a perfectly executed bootleg on fourth down that the freshman took for a 22-yard score and 24-7 Pitt lead…in addition to his ACC Rookie honor, Pickett was also named a Manning Award “Star of the Week” for engineering the upset of the Hurricanes…prior to the Miami game, his most extensive action came a week prior at Virginia Tech…relieved starter Ben DiNucci in the second quarter and completed 15-of-23 passes (65%) for 242 yards with an interception against the Hokies…came off the bench late in the third quarter of the NC State game and played three series…completed 5-of-13 passes for 61 yards and rushed four times for 18 yards (4.5 avg.) against the Wolfpack…made his collegiate debut late in the Oct. 7 game at Syracuse, completing his lone passing attempt for 13 yards…enrolled at Pitt in January 2017 following his early graduation from Ocean Township and participated in spring drills.

As a sophomore at Pittsburgh in 2018,

Kenny Pickett Started all 14 contests…completed 180-of-310 passes (58%) for 1,969 yards with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions…Pitt’s third-leading rusher with 220 yards and three touchdowns on 117 carries (1.9 avg.)…was exceptional in Pitt’s 34-13 win at Wake Forest, a victory that clinched the Coastal Division championship for the Panthers…completed 23-of-30 passes (77%) for 316 yards and three touchdowns against the Demon Deacons…each of Pickett’s three touchdown passes (4, 63 and 23 yards) came in the second half to help Pitt erase a 10-6 halftime deficit…named the ACC Quarterback of the Week and a Manning Award “Star of the Week” for his Wake Forest performance…completed 7-of-11 passes (64%) for 162 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown (to Maurice Ffrench) in a 52-22 win over Virginia Tech…rushed for a career-high 76 yards on seven carries (10.9 avg.) against Duke and had a season-long 30-yard touchdown run…also threw for 150 yards and two TDs against the Blue Devils, including a 25-yard scoring strike to Ffrench with five seconds remaining to break a 45-45 tie.
As a junior at Pittsburgh in 2019,

Kenny Pickett Started 12 games (missing the Sept. 28 game against Delaware due to injury) and had the highest passing production of his collegiate career…completed 62% of his passes (289 of 469) for 3,098 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions…set then-Pitt season records for completions (eclipsing Tino Sunseri’s mark of 256 set in 2012) and attempts (Rod Rutherford, 413 in 2003)…Pickett’s passing yardage was the most at Pitt since 2012 and ranked fourth on the school single-season list…had five 300-yard passing games, the most by a Pitt quarterback since Tyler Palko also had five during the 2004 season…led the ACC and ranked fifth nationally in completions per game (24.08)…ranked second in the ACC and 24th nationally in passing yards per game (258.2)…orchestrated three fourth-quarter comebacks during the 2019 season, giving him five for his career, the most by a Pitt QB since Dave Havern also had five during the 1970-71 seasons…named MVP of the Quick Lane Bowl after throwing for 361 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-39 passing (69%) in a 34-30 win over Eastern Michigan…TD passes covered 96, 19 and 25 yards, the last to Taysir Mack with 47 seconds left that proved to be the game winner…his 96-yard bomb (to Maurice Ffrench) marked the longest pass play in Pitt history, eclipsing the prior record of 91 yards (Alex Van Pelt to Dietrich Jells against Rutgers on Sept. 17, 1992)…in Pitt's 34-27 overtime win over North Carolina, completed 25-of-41 passes (61%) for 359 yards and one touchdown…he also rushed for two TDs, including the eventual game-winner in OT, and was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week…was prolific against Penn State's highly regarded defense, throwing for a season-high 372 yards on 35-of-51 passing (69%)…his 35 completions at Penn State marked a season high and fell two short of the Pitt record (37, Alex Van Pelt vs. Notre Dame in 1990)…led Pitt to a 35-34 win over UCF by throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 61 additional yards and catching the game-winning TD, a three-yard reception off a fourth-down gadget play pass—the “Pitt Special”—from receiver Aaron Mathews…named the ACC Quarterback of the Week and to the Davey O’Brien Award “Great 8” for his UCF performance…in a 33-30 win over Duke, threw for 268 yards with three TDs and two INTs on 29-of-48 passing (60%)…with Pitt facing a 30-26 deficit and 1:25 remaining, he directed a four-play, 82-yard march, capped by a 26-yard scoring strike to V'Lique Carter that was the game winner with 38 seconds left.

As a senior in 2020 at Pittsburgh,

Kenny Pickett Started nine games, missing two consecutive contests due to injury (Oct. 17 at Miami and Oct. 24 vs. Notre Dame)…completed 61% of his passes (203 of 332) for 2,408 yards with 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions…ranked second in the ACC and 15th nationally in completions per game (22.56)…ranked third in the ACC and 21st nationally in passing yards per game (267.6)…led team with eight rushing touchdowns, the most by a Pitt quarterback since 1973 (Billy Daniels, 10)…was the Panthers’ third-leading rusher with 145 yards on 81 carries (1.8 avg.)…named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 15 and Davey O’Brien “QB Class of 2020” Top 35…became the first Pitt quarterback to twice throw for 400 yards in a game…threw for a season-high 411 yards against NC State, completing 56% of his passes (22 of 39)…accounted for three touchdowns against the Wolfpack (two rushing and one passing)…threw for 404 yards and two touchdowns on 35-of-52 passing (67%) in a 47-14 win over Virginia Tech…also rushed for a score against the Hokies and was named the ACC Quarterback of the Week…after missing two games at the end of October, returned for Pitt’s contest at Florida State (Nov. 7) and directed a 41-17 victory…completed 21-of-27 passes (78%) for 210 yards and also rushed for a 10-yard score against the Seminoles.

Though,

2020 would’t be Kenny Pickett’s last playing for Pittsburgh because the NCAA approved a waiver in August that allowed all Division 1 fall athletes an extra year of eligibility.

As a redshirt senior in 2021 at Pittsburgh

Kenny Pickett started the year’s initial 13 games, he completed 67% of his passes (334 of 497) for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns and only seven interceptions…including his five rushing scores, he totaled 47 touchdowns…it was the most prolific season ever by a Pitt quarterback…his 4,319 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns, 47 total TDs and 334 completions set school single-season marks…he also set an ACC season record for touchdown passes (eclipsing the prior mark of 41 set by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson in 2016).

In 13 starts,Kenny Pickett directed the Panthers to an 11-2 record and the program's first ACC championship…the 11 victories marked Pitt's most since the Dan Marino-led 1981 team went 11-1…from an individual standpoint, Pickett was named a first team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)…the last Pitt quarterback to be named a first team All-American was Marino in 1981…Pickett was selected the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (presented to the top upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with his class) and the Senior CLASS Award (presented to the most outstanding senior Football Bowl Subdivision student-athlete)…he additionally was a Heisman Trophy finalist—Pitt's first since receiver Larry Fitzgerald in 2003—and finished third in the balloting.

“according to his biography on pittsburghpanthers.com

Kenny Pickett was selected in the first round as twentieth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

What does that mean for Kenny Pickett?

It means he will be playing in the same stadium he played his home games in collegiality as the Pittsburgh Steelers home stadium is Heinz Field. Though, Kenny Pickett is going to be playing on Thursday or Sunday instead of Saturday like when he played collegiately at Pittsburgh and if he gets to start he has to replace Ben Roethlisberger who retired after being the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 18 seasons.

Kenny Pickett had this to say about being picked, selected by Pittsburgh twentieth!

I can't wait to get to work. I'm really excited. Like I said before, I'm kind of speechless. I've never had this kind of feeling before in my life. It's all the hard work coming to fruition in front of me. I can't wait to get in that building and go chase championships with those guys."

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin had this to say about the Pittsburgh Steelers picking, selecting Kenny Pickett as the twentieth pick!

We talked about his high floor, and the high floor was because of the intangibles but also the anticipation and the pro accuracy were very obvious and consistent when studying his tape," said Tomlin. "It was a good thing for him to come back and go back to school and gain another year of college experience. He is 24 years old. He is a mature young man. You do see maturity in his game, and I think all of those things are going to put him into position to compete."

With Kenny Pickett being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers he joins s a quarterback room that includes Mitchell Trubisky, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent, and Mason Rudolph.

With that in mind,

This question comes to mind is Kenny Pickett going to have an opportunity to start during the 2022 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin had this to say!

"He'll be given an opportunity to compete,

“according to Teresa Varley’s article on steelers.com”