The best in the league
MORE HEADLINES - Who is Pitt targeting to finish the class of 2022? | Pitt reaches new high in CFP rankings | Need to know: Everything to get ready for the ACC title game | Narduzzi on Wake Forest, the ACC title, Pitt's season and a lot more | Championship week preview: Dorin Dickerson on Pitt-Wake, the defense, Pickett and more | Pitt leads the All-ACC teams
Kenny Pickett was the best player on Pitt’s 10-win Coastal Division championship team.
On Wednesday, the ACC announced that he was the best player in the conference, too, as Pickett was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year for his performance this season.
Pickett is the second Pitt player to earn ACC Player of the Year honors. James Conner earned the award in 2014. Conner was also ACC Offensive Player of the year that season. But while Pitt went 6-7 in 2014, Pickett’s performance in 2021 truly elevated the Panthers.
Through 12 games, the super senior quarterback has thrown for 4,066 yards, 40 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he also rushed for four touchdowns. Only two other quarterbacks in ACC history have thrown for 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a season - Florida State’s Jameis Winston in 2013 and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson in 2016.
Pickett also set the ACC regular-season record for touchdown passes, and with two more scoring throws, he’ll set the full-season record as well.
Pickett has also rewritten Pitt’s record books this season. He is currently the Panthers’ all-time leader in career passing yards (12,050), single-season passing yards (4,066), single-season passing touchdowns (40), single-season completions (314), career touchdown responsibility (99), career total offense (12,822), career pass completions (1,025), single-game pass completions (39), single-game passing yards (519) and career 400-yard passing games (5). And he enters Saturday’s ACC Championship Game against Wake Forest with 79 career passing touchdowns; with one more, he will break Dan Marino’s record in that category, too.
All of this has led Pitt to its highest spot ever in the College Football Playoff rankings, as the Panthers checked in at No. 15 this week. With a 10-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the ACC, Pitt clinched the Coastal Division championship two weeks ago against Virginia in a game that saw Pickett throw four touchdowns passes. The Panthers will face Wake Forest (10-2, 7-1) for the conference title on Saturday night in Charlotte.
Pickett’s honors on Wednesday followed Tuesday’s announcement that he was named to the All-ACC first team. Pickett is the first Pitt quarterback to make an All-ACC team. Bill Stull was the last Pitt quarterback to be an all-conference selection; he was named to the All-Big East first team in 2009.
This week’s recognition could be just the start for Pickett. He has already been named a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and the Senior CLASS Award, and he has a realistic shot of being a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.