Pickett's decision: Why Pitt's QB recruit stuck with the Panthers

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Kenny Pickett will move to Pittsburgh today from his home in New Jersey. But for a time there last month, there was a real chance that the move wouldn’t happen.

Or, at the very least, that he would be moving - but not to Pitt.

Pickett was set on the Panthers, having committed in June and telling other schools “Thanks, but no thanks” when they gauged his interest throughout the season. Everything was going according to plan: he was on track to enroll in January and was looking forward to working with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, the Broyles Award finalist who was behind the most exciting Pitt offense in recent memory.

Pickett couldn’t wait. But when he got home from his official visit on Sunday, Dec. 11, things started changing.

That night, Canada’s name started being linked to LSU’s search for a new offensive coordinator. By Wednesday, it was official: Canada was leaving Pitt to join Ed Orgeron’s staff in Baton Rouge.

As you might expect, the news wasn’t what Pickett was hoping to hear.

“I was disappointed in the news because I built a great relationship with Coach Canada and really was impressed with his offense and I was looking forward to playing in it,” Pickett told Panther-Lair.com this week.

As was the case with Thomas MacVittie’s recruitment last year, the departure of an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach became a green light for other schools to make a run at Pickett. North Carolina was chief among those who reached out; the Tar Heels had offered Pickett midseason and he told them he wasn’t interested. But now Larry Fedora’s staff was calling him again.

“Other schools were interested in my thoughts on the change and were really pushing that Pitt has no OC and position coach to help develop me when I arrive,” Pickett said. And he wasn’t completely ignoring those pitches.

“I was very close to reopening my recruitment because of not knowing my position coach or OC, and going to a school without that made me take a step back and talk to my family and coaches,” Pickett said. “This is a process I only want to go through once and it's really important to make the right choice for myself because at the end of the day I understand it's a business for the coaches and I just wanted to make sure I was making the right decision for me and my future.”

When Jim Chaney left for Georgia last December, Pitt held onto MacVittie’s commitment despite a push from LSU due to the efforts of head coach Pat Narduzzi, who became very active in maintaining contact with MacVittie during his search for a new offensive coordinator. And when MacVittie stuck with Pitt, he cited Narduzzi’s efforts as a main reason he decided to do so.

Once again, Narduzzi found himself needing to take the reins to hold onto a quarterback commit. And once again, he was successful.

“Coach Narduzzi reaches out to me daily, we chat about football and other things besides football,” Pickett said.

“Coach Narduzzi made me feel great after several discussions with him about what he is looking to hire in the next coach. Coach had several discussions with my parents also so we all felt really comfortable in the direction of the program and trust Coach Narduzzi in the next hire.

“Coach told us he has a list but didn't want to get into names but we discussed the style of offense and type of coach he is looking for in the next hire. I'm excited to get to Pitt and work with [quality control assistant Wesley Beschorner] and the players.”

Pickett’s situation was a little more complicated that MacVittie’s due to his goal of enrolling early. If he was set on getting to college in January, that seemed to favor Pitt since he hadn’t visited any other schools. But he said that wasn’t a factor; rather, the decision to stick with Pitt came down to the merits of Narduzzi, the coaching staff and the University.

“I never wavered about early enrollment and the schools I was talking to were allowing me to enroll early so really it was finding the right spot for me,” Pickett said. “At the end of the day I'm excited to be going to Pitt and help win an ACC championship while I'm there. This class has a strong bond so I'm really excited for them to get there over the summer.

“Going through the process has been stressful the last three weeks because of the change at Pitt but it has reaffirmed my initial commitment to Pitt and the reasons why I chose Pitt. I was glad to be able to take my official beforehand because it really answered so many of the questions I had prior to Coach Canada announcement.

"The driving factors for me staying were relationships built with entire staff and support staff, my recruiting class and the QB room. I'm just really excited to get on campus and continue to grow as a person and athlete.”

As for the question of who will be calling plays for the Panthers next year, Pickett’s not worried.

“I trust Coach Narduzzi in the next hire. He has made two really good hires since arriving at Pitt.”