Kenny Pickett had a vision of what it would all look like when he announced he was returning to Pitt for a fifth season back in December of 2020. On Friday morning at the Steelers team headquarters as he was introduced as the team’s first round pick and it finally culminated that crazy, hectic journey to get to this point.

“This is where I wanted to be when I made that decision to come back,” Pickett told the Pittsburgh media on Friday.

Along the way there was a run at the Heisman Trophy, an ACC Championship, and All-American honors. Of course, there was scrutiny about his hand size and other things as the draft experts needled and prodded him over the course of the past four months.

Through it all, Pickett bet on himself and it paid off in a big way. He was the first quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft and became the highest drafted quarterback in Pitt history when the neighboring Steelers selected him 20th overall on Thursday evening.

Pickett won’t have to go far to begin his NFL career, as if the the jokes have already been overplayed less than a day into his Steelers tenure. But there is something to that as well. Pickett knows the city well, and the Steelers of course knew him, leading to a perfect match..

“Usually I get to say to the individual, ‘Welcome to Pittsburgh’ and today I get to say ‘Welcome to this side of the building,” Steelers owner Art Rooney II said at Pickett’s introduction. "It’s a great feeling to be able to do that, and it’s also something for me to be able to say we drafted somebody that broke all of Dan Marino’s records in college, which is pretty special.”

Pickett has been in Pittsburgh since 2017. He has already started 25 games at Heinz Field as Pitt’s starting quarterback, the shared home stadium of Pitt and the Steelers. The teams also share a building and practice fields.

“It’s special, it’s really special,” Pickett said of going from the Pitt starting quarterback to playing for the Steelers. “I have a lot of friendships and I know a lot of people here just from playing at Pitt and being here for five years. The fact that I am starting my pro career here is really special and I’m looking forward to building new relationships with everybody in the city.”

Aside from the proximity factor, there are other connections to Pickett’s new team. The Steelers offensive coordinator is Matt Canada, Pitt’s former offensive coordinator and the coach that initially recruited Pickett to Pitt. He left for LSU prior to Pickett’s arrival, but there is a relationship in place.

“I’ve known Coach Canada for a long time and I finally get to play for him, so that was the first thing we talked about on the phone,” Pickett said of his new offensive coordinator.

Pickett also walks into a bit of an open quarterback battle. Mason Rudolph has been with the team since 2018 and has started 10 games in the four years since. Mitchell Trubisky was signed as a free agent earlier this offseason. Trubisky was a one time first round pick by the Bears, and even tried to recruit Kenny Pickett back in his college days at North Carolina.

Pickett was being pursued by the Tar Heels after Canada left, and Trubisky was coming off a big season for North Carolina. The new Steeler recalled an interaction from his recruiting days with his now teammate.

“They both reached out,” Pickett said of the current Steelers quarterbacks. "I actually told Mitch he and I don’t even know if he remembered it, but senior year he called me and was trying to recruit me to North Carolina so it kind of goes full circle. Two great guys and I’m really looking forward to working with them.”

Pickett’s decision to bet on himself paid off in many ways. It’s only an added bonus he gets to remain in Pittsburgh and begin his professional career with the team he practiced alongside for the past five years and will play in the same home stadium he has for that same stretch.

“There’s comfort, but obviously there’s a job at hand,” Pickett said of landing in Pittsburgh. “I know what I have to do and I know how to go about my business. I’m really excited to be here and that first game back at Heinz Field instead of blue and gold it’ll be black and gold and I’m really excited for that.”

Pickett has called Pittsburgh home for five years, and will continue to do so after being selected by the Steelers. He declined the typical city tour first round picks usually get when arriving to town for the first time.

“That’s what I said I don’t need the tour, when the new guys get here I can show them around," Pickett joked.