If there’s a quarterback honor being bestowed this season, Pitt redshirt senior quarterback Kenny Pickett is going to be in the running for it.
Having already been named a semifinalist for the Johnny Unitas Award and the Maxwell Award this season, Pickett was announced as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award — the National Quarterback of the Year award.
Pickett has thrown for 3,171 yards and 29 touchdowns on 235-of-342 passing attempts, completing 68.7 percent of attempts at 9.3 yards per attempt with just three interceptions. He’s also rushed for 234 yards and four touchdowns on 73 attempts on the ground.
Pickett is ranked Top-10 nationally in a majority of quarterback stats, and he’s guided Pitt’s top-ranked scoring offense in the country.
The other semifinalists are UVA’s Brennan Armstrong, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Oregon’s Anthony Brown, Ole Miss’s Matt Corral, Fresno State’s Jake Haener, UTSA’s Frank Harris, Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman, Tennessee’s Malik Hooker, UNC’s Sam Howell, Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, SMU’s Tanner Mordecai, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, Nevada’s Carson Strong, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Oklahoma’s Caleb Williams, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe.
The 20-man list has been expanded from prior seasons, reflecting the quality of quarterbacks in college football this season.
Three finalists will be announced on Nov. 23, picked by the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee and helped by a social media fan vote, before the winner is announced on Dec. 9 at the Home Depot College Football Awards.
Pickett would be the first winner in Pitt history.
He will not win it. Very good QB but not elite.
It would be nice, but I’d rather win Thursday night.
He might not win it but he is as deserving as any QB this year. Put him on Alabama or Ohio State and he would win every award including the Heisman with the way he has played this year.
His stats are second to none and his leadership is tops.
Very impressive PITT student/athlete!