The Pitt football program kicked off spring practice for the 2021 season yesterday. Senior quarterback Kenny Pickett will be going through his fifth session of spring practice during his time at Pitt and obviously that was not always expected just a few short months ago.

Pickett led Pitt to a 34-20 win over Georgia Tech on December 10th to end the season. He threw for one touchdown and rushed for another in what many expected to be his last game in a Panther uniform.

Pickett had a pending Senior Bowl invite and was in the mix to be selected in next month’s NFL Draft. He finished his career as a three-year starter for Pitt and many thought that was the last of him in Pittsburgh. He noted he was ‘very close’ to pursuing that NFL dream when it came time to make the decision a few months ago.

“I stayed in touch with Coach Narduzzi and Coach Whipple, those are the two people here that I was obviously staying in touch with,” Pickett said of that decision. “Outside of that, everyone on the team and everyone had the idea that I was declaring. My friends back home were the only ones that really knew I was making the decision because I was stressed about it a little bit talking to them, besides that everyone thought I was leaving.”

Just five days following that Georgia Tech game, Pickett tweeted: “One more year. #H2P" and that was it. The Pitt quarterback opted to use the extra year of eligibility granted to all players by the NCAA, and now the Panthers 2021 offense will center itself around the school’s fifth all-time leading passer (7,984 yards).

“I think more highly of myself than where I was projected, so as a competitor it just fuels the fire more for this season,” Pickett said of the decision to return.

The Pitt quarterback will now get his third season to work with offensive coordinator Mark Whipple. The two have come very close over the years, and getting the chance to work with him a third season is a big reason as to why he came back.

“He was a huge influence on why I came back,” Pickett said of Whipple.

As Pickett gets set for his fifth run of spring practice, he will have a new look around him. Gone is a senior class that he was a part of that was very influential on the program.

Players like Jimmy Morrissey, Patrick Jones, Rashad Weaver, and Damar Hamlin were all team leaders and Pickett said it will be hard to replace what they brought to the locker room.

“I don’t see one guys stepping up early right now to handle what those guys were handling as leaders on the team,” he explained. “I think it’ll be by committee early then we’ll see what develops over the summer.”

Pickett said he knew once he made the decision, either way, that he would be fully committed. Now that he’s back with Pitt for another season, he’s all-in on helping the Panthers win in 2021.

“I think obviously I didn’t love it here so much it would have been a lot easier to leave given the position that I was in,” Pickett said. "I love it here, love the players, coaches, so I think it was a win-win either way to leave or if I chose to stay, so I’m really focused on being here and excited to have one more ride with these guys.”

It will be a new-look Panthers team this spring. Pitt of course is losing a lot of seniors from last year’s team. The Panthers have two new assistant coaches in Brennan Marion and Ryan Manalac, and a large group of mid-year enrollees to bring new energy into the program.

“They bring a breathe of fresh air, I’d say,” the Pitt quarterback said of the freshmen class. “All the new guys, that’s usually how it goes when freshmen come in. I was that guy a couple of years ago, so I like taking those guys under my wing and help them out anyway I can.”

Pitt is set to resume spring practice tomorrow for its second session.