Kenny Pickett is the key to Pitt’s 2019 season, and that really isn’t really much of a stretch at all. If he is a better player in 2019, the Panthers junior quarterback can mask a lot of problems on this team and it can win a lot of football games.

Is he going to be better?

That’s the million dollar question. After a promising end to his freshman season and an offseason full of hype, his 2018 season fell short of preseason expectations. Pitt's passing offense was one of the worst in the country and it culminated with a three-game losing streak to end the year.

Pickett had his moments, sure. He led a game-winning drive against Duke and threw three second-half touchdowns against Wake Forest to help clinch the ACC Coastal. The eight passing yards against Clemson in the ACC Championship game, however, is what everyone is going to remember more.

Heading into his junior season, it’s time for Pickett to take a step forward and the Pitt program really needs that to happen. Veteran coach Mark Whipple was brought in to be the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and his presence is expected to help put this offense ahead in 2019, but first the team has to learn it.

“Really I’m just trying to get the offense down the best I can with the 15 practices that we have before we go out to our summer training,” Pickett said of his first few weeks with Whipple. “It’s been all positives so far. I had a really good day on Saturday and I came back here and the defense got after us a little bit, so it’s been a really competitive spring and I think it’ll make us better in the end.”

Many believed part of Pitt’s lack of a passing game had many culprits beyond just Pickett's play, and the play calling ranked high on the list of complaints. Mark Whipple brings a wealth of experience and helped orchestrate one of the better passing offenses in the country at UMass last season. Pickett has already taken notice of what his style of offense can potentially bring this season.

“I’d probably say versatility,” Pickett said of the biggest difference he has noticed. “Using our strengths and what the guys do best and getting the ball that way - that’s been the biggest improvement I think and it showed throughout these practices so far, so we’re just taking it a day at a time and we’ll finish up Saturday.”

Whipple has been impressed with Pickett to date, but noted he’s happy there is more time to work with him as his offense is slowly being installed.

“He’s been good; he’s a hard worker, really good player,” Whipple said of Pickett. “He’s handled some tempo things. He’s handled some certain things with the cadence. We’re going to work on moving protections - some things that way so all the guys have been engaged, but I think he’s taken a big step and the thing is we don’t play until September or late-August, so we got a whole bunch of summer and camp to work with him also.”

Coaching can make a big difference for Pickett, but a lot of his improvement is going to have to come from within. He made plenty of mistakes in 2018, and he’s hoping that some personal growth will help his game next year perhaps starting with being a better leader.

"Really just playing the next play and mental toughness, I think is what I took out of that,” Pickett said of what he learned from his 2018 season. “I’m kind of ready for really anything that’s thrown at me - mentally and physically. I’ve been training really hard and just focused really on what I got to do to be a better leader for us and to be a better quarterback.”

While Whipple’s offense is going to be different, but his coaching style is also something that has also caught Pickett’s eye.

“I just like competing honestly,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing this spring that Coach Whipple’s brought is more of a competitive edge to us.”