QB Pickett commits to Pitt

Pitt added a signal-caller to the class of 2017 on Saturday when Oakhurst (NJ) Ocean Township quarterback Kenny Pickett committed to the Panthers.

Pickett made his verbal pledge while visiting Pitt. That was his second visit in the last two weeks, as he checked out the Panthers in late May. The previous visit was his first to the city, and he was impressed with what he saw.

“I really liked it,” Pickett said of his first visit. “The campus is very nice and the football facilities are some of the nicest I’ve seen. The renovations they’ve made are unbelievable; I looked at the before-and-after pictures. And I got a chance to talk to Coach (Matt) Canada and Coach (Pat) Narduzzi throughout the day; that was a big thing.”

Pickett committed to Temple earlier this spring, but he added a few subsequent offers, including one from Pitt on May 11. Five days later, he formally reopened his recruitment, and he was on Pitt's campus one week after that.

Pickett, 6'3" 191, is a key commitment for Narduzzi and Canada. While early June is by no means "late" in the recruiting process, quarterbacks don't tend to drag their recruitments out. For example, of the other 11 quarterbacks Pitt offered in the 2017 class, eight have already committed.

So landing Pickett was a priority for the Pitt coaches as they try to build some depth in both quantity and quality at quarterback, and the staff did enough on his first visit to convince him to pick the Panthers.

As the starting quarterback last season, Pickett led Ocean Township to a 9-2 record and an appearance in the Central Jersey Group 3 semifinals. He completed 64.2% of his passes and threw for 1,796 yards, 19 touchdowns and just three interceptions while also rushing for 336 yards and five touchdowns.