NEW YORK — With Alabama quarterback Bryce Young playing in the SEC and Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett playing in the ACC, there wasn’t a lot of time for the player to appreciate one another’s seasons, which ended up with the two, along with Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, being name Heisman Trophy finalists.
But Young did get one opportunity to break down Pickett’s game, and he came away impressed.
Pitt played Tennessee on Sept. 11, with Pickett throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for a third in the Panthers’ victory. When Alabama got set to host Tennessee for their Oct. 23 conference date, the film of the Volunteers playing Pitt was a big part of his film study.
“I did watch one game that we had a mutual opponent, Tennessee,” Young said. “You can tell, he was really popping on film. You kinda get familiar with the SEC quarterbacks because you watch them like every week. I just had that one game, so I didn’t have that much familiarity, but from that one game, you could tell.
“That was even earlier in the year, but you could tell how much he was popping. You can tell how he looked against a really good defense. That was one chance I got, when you’re breaking stuff down, he jumped off the screen.”
Pickett finished the game against Tennessee 24 of 36 for 285 yards and two passing touchdowns, plus 19 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. Young did him one better, though. He torched the Vols for 371 passing yards on 31 of 43, with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdown.
Maybe that’s why Young is the favorite to come away with the Heisman on Saturday.
