Kenny Pickett's 'It Factor' Came Long Before Steelers Starter

Kenny Pickett wasn't always an NFL starting quarterback, but many before the Pittsburgh Steelers knew he would make it.

PITTSBURGH -- The parallels are uncanny. Long before he was named the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kenny Pickett was battling to see the field as a freshman for the Pitt Panthers. 

Pickett subbed in for starter Ben DiNucci midway through game 11 against Virginia Tech and led a last-gasp, but ultimately futile comeback attempt before making his first career start as a true freshman against Miami, who was riding a ten-game winning streak and was on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth. 

Pickett completed 18 of 29 passes for 193 yards and ran for 13 yards for 60 yards while scoring three total touchdowns as the 5-7 Panthers beat the No. 2 Hurricanes 24-17 at then-Heinz Field. He has followed a similar arc as a professional - relieving Steelers starter Mitch Trubisky at halftime against the Jets last week before being named starter ahead of a date with the preseason Super Bowl favorites, the Buffalo Bills at their place. 

Tim Salem, who's served as Pitt's tight ends coach since before Pickett arrived in Pittsburgh, is confident that the Steelers will get a similarly tough and inspired performance from Pickett in a hostile environment against a great team because he's seen Pickett in spots like this before. 

“I’ll put my money on Kenny," Salem said. "Kenny went up against the undefeated, No. 2 Miami Hurricanes. Now he’s got the Super Bowl favorites? Okay, well Kenny’s done that. Kenny’s experienced that. That’s who Kenny is."

Salem was the first Pitt coach to recruit Pickett when he was a sophomore at Ocean Township High School in New Jersey, fielding offers from Temple, Toledo and Monmouth. Salem saw what he said no one else did - a savvy, competitive player worthy of playing big-time college football. 

It' wasn't until Pickett hit a three-inch growth spurt and played well at the USA Football International Bowl in Texas in the middle of his junior year that power programs began to take notice and Salem implored offensive coordinator Matt Canada - who's now in the same role for the Steelers - to go take a look. 

“He played in some all-star game in Texas over Christmas and played pretty good in the game," Salem said. "He was still a little guy. When he came back probably in January and I came back in April, it was like ‘Kenny, what the heck happened?’ ... Shoulders, size — he grew over just a couple months’ time and then he was a prospect in the pocket. That’s right away, I went to watch him and I told Matt Canada who was on our staff, ‘Matt, you need to go to New Jersey and watch this guy. Go there,’.”

Canada did, Pitt made an official offer and ultimately flipped Pickett from his commitment to Temple. He spent his first few months as a Panther taking licks from the team's formidable defense, staffed with future professionals like Rashad Weaver, Jordan Whitehead, Avonte Maddox and future Bills Damar Hamlin and Dane Jackson, who Pickett will face this weekend. Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge said his unit used to tee off on Pickett, but it never phased the freshman. 

"We aren’t afraid to hit the quarterback on the scout team," Partridge said. "We’re trying to teach our guys how to stretch and bend corners, reach for arms and Kenny almost loved it. It’s like he thrived on the contact. ... There’s a mismatch on the scout o-line against the starting d-line, so we’d get after Kenny and he absolutely loved it every time."

Ever since he was nothing more than an undersized and under-recruited high schooler, those intangibles are what stood out the most in Pickett. He is not afraid of the spotlight, physicality or a challenge. Fearlessness and instincts for how to play football are intrinsic to his personality and, as a result, his best moments come when his odds are at their worst. 

"Back then he had the 'it factor'," Salem said. He had a quarterback’s mentality, a quarterback’s demeanor, anticipation, moxy — all those words you want to hear, he had. I was able to watch him and really see him grow overnight, technically and a lot of people went ‘Who’s this guy? He’s nothing.’ ... We were able to land him and since the day he showed up here, he’s been a player.”

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