Kenny Pickett stood at his locker, about 50 feet from the locker room where he shined at Pitt just a few months ago, and spoke to the media while wearing a shirt featuring an image of Joe Montana and Dan Marino.
While time will tell if Pickett can join the pantheon of those two NFL legends, the rookie — in his first game with the Steelers — displayed leadership beyond his years Saturday in Pittsburgh's 32-25 in its preseason opener with Seattle.
"You would think he's been in the league for five years," said running back Jaylen Warren, who caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Pickett, giving the Steelers a 23-17 lead midway through the third quarter.
The rookie, with plenty of experience at the college level, showcased Saturday night why the Steelers — and many experts — viewed him as the most NFL ready quarterback while going through the draft process this offseason.
"He moved his group," said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. "He played situational football. He displayed a competitive spirit. A lot of good things to build on from a first performance."
Pickett finished the game 13 of 15 for 95 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to Tyler Vaughns with three seconds left.
"The whole night was special," said the former Pitt quarterback. "I've been here for so long and have never been able to go to a Steelers game. The first one I was at was as an NFL player. To finish that way, in that stadium, with a lot of family and friends there, was awesome."
Pickett's night got off to a late start. He didn't get into the game until there was 10:37 left in the third quarter, and after Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph successfully operated their offenses in the first half.
But Pickett, with the crowd buzzing and chanting his name well before he entered the contest, showed a calm demeanor, and immediately led the Steelers on a seven-play, 75-yard drive that finished with Warrens' grab.
Tomlin then threw a curveball at the rookie, electing to go for a two-point conversion after Seattle took a timeout.
Pickett found fellow rookie Connor Heyward for the two-point play to give Pittsburgh a 25-17 lead.
"I wanted Connor in there," Pickett said, indicating that he had some influence over the play call and personnel. "I have a lot of trust in him. He's a great playmaker."
For the most part, the Steelers kept things simple for Pickett. He didn't take many shots down the field, but didn't need to. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada drew up several designed sprint-outs and rollouts to get Pickett on the move.
"That's something that I was really excited about, getting into coach Canada's offense," Pickett said. "I think he utilizes the quarterbacks, all of our abilities. Not just throwing, but obviously running and moving the pocket. It's something that I feel I do really well.
"When I saw that in the game plan, I made sure — on my sheet at least — I was putting those up there," he said. "I wanted to move the pocket, help our o-line out. Just easy completions to help us get going."
Once Pickett started moving and shifting the defense around, he fell into a zone, completing the first ten passes he attempted.
"I was just in rhythm and I just wanted to stay in rhythm, complete passes, move the chains," he said. "That was really the goal coming in. And then kind of let my abilities take over for me and play fast. That was really all I was focused on doing."
His night wasn't without fault. Pickett took two sacks, with one coming on 3rd down and another on a 4th and short late in the game, turning the ball over to Seattle at midfield.
But the Steelers got the ball back just seconds later thanks to Mark Robinson's strip sack of Drew Lock. With that, Pickett got a second chance at leading the Steelers to a win.
"He was calm," Steelers running back Master Teague said of Pickett in the huddle. "He was poised. We were communicating and he seemed confident. I was impressed with some of the plays he made."
With time running down, he used his legs on multiple occasions to escape pressure, including an eight-yard run on the penultimate play of the series.
"Not using your legs is holding you back and not taking advantage of the tools you have in your game," he said. "In those kinds of situations, when I felt like things were breaking down or if I could just knife it for four yards and get a first down, I was going to do that. It helped us out, moving the chains. And it's something I'm going to do as my career progresses."
As the Steelers neared field goal range, Pickett took a shot to Vaughns, who broke free, dove over the pylon, and gave the Steelers a dramatic win.
Pickett, for one of the few times on the night, showed his age, gleefully jumping to the sideline in celebration.
The crowd of nearly 49,000, many who chanted his name throughout the night, again broke out into the coordinated praise of the rookie.
"I could (hear it). I'd be lying if I said I didn't," Pickett said. "It was an incredible feeling."
