Confidence and ability have Pickett poised to lead Pitt

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Fresh off a win in his first college start, Kenny Pickett almost seemed to be offended by the question.

“Kenny, I know you feel confident that you can go into any game and win, but were you even a little surprised, not only beating the number-two team but doing it pretty convincingly?”

That was the final question in Pickett’s post-game press conference on Friday, and it seemed innocuous, not to mention reasonable. After all, Pitt had just handed No. 2 Miami its first loss of the season, a 24-14 win that saw the Panthers effectively dominate the Hurricanes for four quarters with their freshman quarterback leading the way.

It was a surprising win for just about everyone who had followed Pitt, Miami or college football this season. But not for Pickett.

“No. Like I said, it’s not a surprise. You go into every game thinking you’re going to win. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. Every time we walk out, we think we can win.

“It’s not a surprise when you win. It’s what you should have done. So no, I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Of course, that kind of confidence is probably a bit easier to project when you’re taking questions after leading your 4-7 team to an upset of the No. 2 team in the country, a game in which you ran for two touchdowns and threw for another. But for Pickett, a freshman from New Jersey, the sense of self-assurance seems to come from something deeper.

“I have an unbelievable amount of confidence in myself,” he said. “No matter what field I walk on, I feel like I’m the best player there. So that’s my mindset when I head into it.”

That’s the confidence Pickett brought to the Panthers, and it didn’t take long for him to push it on his teammates. Friday may have been his first career start, but he settled into the role of offensive leader quickly.

“It’s the most I’ve seen from him and probably any quarterback all year, in terms of just demanding,” left tackle Brian O’Neill said Friday. “He was the demanding voice and what he said went. He grabbed a guy one time and told him to shut up. That was great for me to see him step up as the leader in the offensive huddle. Usually it’s me or [Alex Bookser] being a vocal guy and Qadree Ollison doing the vocal stuff, but he took over, so hats off to him.”

Friday was the first start of Pickett’s career and just the second game in which he has seen extended playing time. He threw one pass in Pitt’s loss at Syracuse in Week Six and played three series against N.C. State a week later.

After that, Pickett stayed on the sideline, serving as the unused backup to Ben DiNucci while Pitt beat Duke and Virginia. When the Panthers lost to North Carolina at home two weeks ago, head coach Pat Narduzzi wanted a spark for the passing game, so he brought Pickett in at the start of the second quarter in the Panthers’ loss at Virginia Tech.

Pickett showed flashes in that game and did enough to earn the starting job against Miami. But even though it was Pickett’s first start, O’Neill said the situation never seemed to be too big for the freshman.

“It was probably the time he got flipped in the end zone, dove in the end zone and got flipped up, and he just got up like screaming, so excited and happy. It was more of a, ‘We’re coming at you’ mentality, not just a, ‘Oh my gosh, I just scored my second or third touchdown ever and it’s on national TV.’ It was none of that. It was like, ‘We’re coming at them and we’re coming at them hard all day,’”

“It’s happened before to me,” Pickett said. “You think you can do something, you see it in your head over and over again, and the next thing you know, it’s happening before your eyes. That wasn’t the first time for me, but this was the biggest stage for me. It’s definitely just another step in my career.”

That career is certainly off to a strong start. Pickett finished the Miami game with 193 yards and a touchdown on 18-of-29 passing and he rushed 13 times for 60 yards and two scores. The rushing touchdowns stood out the most, but one number that was absent from his stat line was nearly as notable: Interceptions.

Pickett threw none of those against the Hurricanes, whose defense had feasted on opponents’ passes all season. Through the first 10 games, Miami had 17 interceptions, and the Hurricanes probably viewed Pitt’s freshman quarterback as a ripe candidate for their next round of picks.

But Pickett knew what the Hurricanes were looking for, and he made it a priority to avoid players in white when dropping back to pass.

“They’re a real fast defense; I knew that coming in,” Pickett said. “I knew that I had to throw on time and if I didn’t throw on time and the ball was late, it could be trouble. So when I got in trouble, I looked for the check-down, and if it wasn’t there, I felt like I could tuck it and run and do some damage there. That was my mindset.”

That mindset, combined with a strong, accurate arm, impressive speed and considerable toughness, went a long way in propelling Pitt to the upset of the Hurricanes. And that win has given Pitt and its young quarterback quite a boost into the offseason.

“It’s a pretty good first start,” Pickett said. “You never really expect it; coming out of high school, you don’t think your first start is going to be against the number-two team in the country and you’re going to upset them at home. It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m really happy we got it done for the seniors.”