After historic Pitt career, Kenny Pickett named ACC Male Athlete of the Year

Kenny Pickett signed his Pittsburgh Steelers rookie contract more than two weeks ago, but one more honor from his remarkable Pitt career rolled in Friday.

Pickett was named the 2022 ACC Male Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced. He is Pitt’s first ACC Athlete of the Year since the university joined the league prior to the 2013-14 seasons.

Pickett received 32 votes from the 88-person media panel, followed by Florida State track’s Trey Cunningham (18) and North Carolina basketball player Armando Bacot (16).

After leading Pitt to the 2021 ACC football championship, Pickett finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting and was the first quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was Pitt’s first Heisman finalist since Larry Fitzgerald in 2003.

He joins the ACC Athlete of the Year fraternity that includes such notable athletes as North Carolina’s Michael Jordan (1984), Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan (1997), N.C. State’s Philip Rivers (2004) and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (2021).

The Anthony J. McKelvin Award has been presented to the league’s top male athlete since 1954.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this award from the ACC, a conference that annually produces so many accomplished athletes,” Pickett said in a statement. “As always, I share this honor with my Pitt teammates, coaches and staff. Winning the ACC championship together is something I will cherish forever.”

Pickett led Pitt to an 11-2 record — he opted out of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to prepare for the NFL — and the Panthers’ first ACC title. The 11 victories marked Pitt’s most since the 1981 team, led by Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino, finished 11-1. He also was the first Pitt quarterback since Marino to earn first-team All-American status (Walter Camp Foundation and American Football Coaches Association).

More Pickett news:

• Steelers take Pitt quarterback with top selection
• Pickett prepares for 1st training camp with Steelers
• Third-stringer Pickett vows to climb Steelers depth chart
• U mad, bro?: Steelers fans already getting snippy about Pickett

“Kenny had a historic year, not only for Pitt but also for the Atlantic Coast Conference,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “He represented our university, the city of Pittsburgh and the ACC with the utmost class every step of the way. Kenny is a very deserving recipient of this prestigious award and we are, yet again, tremendously proud of him.”

In his 13 starts, Pickett completed 67% of his passes (334 of 497) for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He totaled 47 touchdowns, including five on the ground.

His passing yardage, passing touchdowns, total TDs and completions are Pitt season records. He set an ACC season record for touchdown passes, breaking the previous mark (41) set by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, who also won the McKelvin Award.

In addition, he won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (top upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with his class) and the Senior CLASS Award (most outstanding senior FBS student-athlete).

Pickett, a two-time team captain who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, is Pitt’s all-time leader in passing yards (12,303), pass completions (1,045), total offense (13,112), touchdown responsibility (102) and passing touchdowns (81). He had 20 career rushing touchdowns, a record for a Pitt quarterback.

Pickett has earned praise for his NIL initiatives, which included volunteerism with the Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, Make-A-Wish of Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the Dollar Energy Fund and Voting Matters campaign.

He also donated his student-athlete per diem to local youth teams so they could purchase bottled water for practices and games.

Boston College’s Charlotte North, the national women’s lacrosse player of the year, won the ACC’s top honor for female athletes.