Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, who hit the historic aerial milestones of 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns this season, was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year by landslide votes.

Pickett received 52 of 64 first-place votes for Player of the Year in balloting by a select panel of 50 media members and the ACC’s 14 head coaches. He also was named Offensive Player of the Year on 54 ballots.

He joins running back James Conner (2014) as the only Pitt players named ACC Player of the Year in the school’s nine seasons as a member of the conference.

Pickett set one simple goal for himself this season, and his Heisman Trophy candidacy and standing as a finalist for four other national awards indicate he’s close to reaching it.

“I want to be the best,” he said. “That’s always been my goal since I was young. It’s something you continue to work for. There is always someone out there working just as hard or harder than you. So, you try to set those goals for yourself and chase him.”

Pickett’s father, Ken, who was an All-American linebacker at Shippensburg, said Pickett was self-motivated from an early age, often choosing football camp over leisurely summer activities.

“I really didn’t have to do anything. He was on auto-pilot,” Ken Sr. said. “He just had a passion to try to be the best he can be and master the craft.”

Pickett is one of 21 Pitt players named this week to All-ACC teams — from first team to honorable mention.

“All the individual accolades come to the best team, and you see how many guys we have on all those different teams,” he said. “We’re in the championship game. That doesn’t happen by accident. I’m proud of all the work we put in.”

The achievement — possibly a crowning achievement if Pitt can win — will come Saturday night in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., when Pickett leads his team into the ACC championship game against Wake Forest.

Pickett’s story dates all the way to January, 2017, when he graduated early from Ocean Township (N.J.) High School and enrolled at Pitt in time for spring drills. By Thanksgiving, he emerged as the starter over older teammates, punctuating his freshman season with a 24-14 upset of then-No. 2 Miami in his only start. And he did it without a great supporting cast. Pitt won only five games that year.

Since then, he has been Pitt’s starting quarterback over four seasons, leading the Panthers to the 2018 ACC championship game, a 42-10 loss to eventual national champion Clemson.

When asked Wednesday to describe what he does well now that might have been a challenge in previous seasons, he had a ready answer.

“I’m a step faster mentally, getting through my progressions, reading defenses, especially post-snap,” he said. “Seeing three guys (defenders) moving at one time and kind of feeling things out. A step ahead mentally.”

He could have bolted for the NFL after last season, but he bet on himself, consulted with people who have ties to the NFL (including Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning) and decided to return to Pitt. That decision might have turned him from a fifth-round pick in 2021 into a first-rounder next spring.

He stands second in the ACC in career passing yards, with 12,050 to N.C. State Philip Rivers’ 13,484. With two games left, he won’t pass Rivers, but he’s one short of Deshaun Watson’s single-season touchdown record of 41 set in 2016 at Clemson.

Pickett has rewritten the Pitt record books, vaulting into first place all-time in yards, touchdowns (79, tied with Dan Marino) and passing yards in a season (4,066). He is just the third quarterback in ACC history to throw for 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, joining Florida State’s Jameis Winston and Watson.

An All-American candidate, Pickett is a finalist for four national awards: the Davey O’Brien Quarterback, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, Maxwell and Senior CLASS.

Past ACC POYs include several who have distinguished themselves in the NFL. Quarterbacks Winston and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence were first overall choices in the 2015 and 2021 drafts. Other past ACC POYs were Rivers (2003), Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson (2006), Boston College’s Matt Ryan (2007), Watson (2015) and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (2016, ’17).

ESPN NFL Draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have ranked Pickett as the top quarterback in the 2022 class.

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is convinced Pickett should be among the finalists invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony Dec. 11 in New York City.

“I expect Kenny to be in New York,” he said.

Years ago, after spending the 2003 season as defensive coordinator at Miami (Ohio) on a team that included Ben Roethlisberger, Narduzzi vouched for Roethlisberger’s future stardom in the NFL.

“I called a good friend who was at the New York Giants,” Narduzzi said. “Coaching with Ben Roethlisberger, I said, ‘This guy is the guy. He’s a pro quarterback.’ And he’s had a Hall of Fame career here with the Steelers. I feel the same way about Kenny.”

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