PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Many feel they’ve had eyes on Kenny Pickett for years, but really only a few in Pittsburgh have. The man to really discover Pickett, at least from a Pittsburgh perspective, discussed his early impressions.
Pitt assistant Tim Salem was in charge of recruiting players from New Jersey. He said he knew some people that coached Pickett and talked him up. When he first saw him, he was a 5’8”(ish) sophomore in high school, but he still made an early impression.
“He, back then, had the ‘it’ factor,” Salem said Tuesday. “He had quarterback mentality, quarterback demeanor, anticipation, moxie-all of those words you want to hear. He had it.”
He not only watched him throw passes but saw him as a baseball player. Salem liked all of his mannerisms, really no matter what he was doing.
Early he didn’t have much competition for Pickett, he said other coaches and recruiting experts thought ‘oh, who is this guy, he’s nothing’. He said he went back to see him a couple of months later and he grew three inches.
“Matt Canada was on staff at the time and I said ‘hey Matt, you need to go to New Jersey to watch this guy’,” Salem said. “He went there and said ‘Oh My God, I have to recruit this guy’.”
Canada left for LSU before he could coach Pickett, but now has the opportunity with the Steelers Sunday in Buffalo. It was a similar challenge in Pickett’s first home college start. Days before Thanksgiving, Pitt hosted the second-best team in the nation.
“Kenny went up against the undefeated, number two ranked Miami Hurricanes,” Salem said. “Now he’s going against, you say the pre-Super Bowl favorites?”
In that game against Miami, as a true freshman and the third quarterback that year for the Panthers, Pickett went 18 of 29 for 193 and a passing touchdown. His legs are probably more memorable from that game, the image of him diving for the pilon and a game-winning touchdown. That was part of 13 runs for 60 yards.
“Kenny’s done that, Kenny’s experienced that,” Salem said. “That’s who Kenny is. You can trust Kenny’s preparation because Kenny just knows what to do, how to do, when to do and that’s why the Steelers picked him first.”
A Pitt defensive assistant at the time, Charlie Partridge said you can trust the toughness as well. Pointing out the pass he made across the middle in the fourth-quarter Sunday to Pat Freiermuth as he was getting hammered.
“His competitive nature going against our scout team,” Partridge recalled. “We are not afraid to hit the quarterback on the scout team. Kenny almost loved it. He thrived on the contact.”
“You guys all saw the clip of him getting hit on Sunday and got up laughing, talking to the guy. That actually brought me back to some of those moments. Those guys would get after Kenny. He absolutely loved it every time. You guys are seeing it now at the highest level.”
“Kenny is a player,” Salem said. “From the day he showed up here, he’s been a player. He’s proven that since the day I saw him in Ocean Township, New Jersey. I’m cheering for Kenny. Kenny will do good.”