PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s something you still mainly hear only among Pitt fans. Prior to the season, he wasn’t mentioned by anyone as a serious contender for any major awards. After a month of the season, only seven players in college football have better odds to win the Heisman Trophy than Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett.
I hear the scoffing. So here are the numbers for Kenny Pickett through five games and you can make up your own mind.
· 1st among Power 5 QBs in passing efficiency, points accounted for and points responsible for
· 2nd among Power 5 QBs in total TDs (one behind Alabama’s Bryce Young who’s played one more game), total offense and yards per pass attempt
· 3rd among Power 5 QBs in passing yards per game
· 5th among Power 5 QBs in completion percentage
· 6th in total passing yards and completions per game among Power 5 QBs playing one fewer game
Overall this season the numbers look like this
· 121 of 168 (72%) for 1,731 yards, 19 TD, 1 INT, 194.7 QB rating
“I mean, he's one of the top quarterbacks in the country, if not the best quarterback in the country, in my opinion, when you look around,” said Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, who admittedly has a bias.
“It's comforting as a head coach, as an offense and defense, knowing that Kenny Pickett is going to lead the show out there. You know you can trust him. He's going to do everything he can do to win a football game. Have a lot of faith.”
The proof for Pickett, and for the Panthers as legit ACC contenders, comes in the next few weeks. Pitt at Virginia Tech this Saturday. Then Clemson and Miami for back-to-back home games. There is also the home prime-time opportunity against North Carolina on November 11.
If he continues to excel in these exams, the attention for the senior will build. You can’t avoid it in today’s world, if you aren’t listening, watching or reading. Your friends, or family, are telling you about what is said.
Pickett’s head coach doesn’t believe it will be an issue.
“Kenny is like this,” Narduzzi said Monday moving his hand across in a straight line. “You don't see any change in who he is. That's good. I think you handle it week by week and see how it affects him. I don't expect to see any difference in how Kenny Pickett plays.”
If that continues, Pickett may not only improve his draft stock. He’ll be right in the Heisman conversation until early December.