Pitt's Kenny Pickett named winner of Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

Kenny Pickett ran an offense at Pitt that scored touchdowns at a fast pace. In the ACC championship game, for example, Pitt’s five touchdown drives averaged 80 seconds each.

The postseason honors aren’t coming that fast, but he collected two big ones in a span of 15 hours from Monday evening to Tuesday morning.

After he was named one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy shortly after 6 p.m. Monday, he was announced as the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award on Tuesday. The honor has been bestowed every year since 1987 on the nation’s top upperclassman quarterback set to graduate with his class. Unitas enjoyed a Hall of Fame career, mainly with Baltimore Colts, after growing up in Mt. Washington.

The award will put Pickett, the ACC Player of the Year, on the move. He will be honored Friday at the Golden Arm Award banquet in Baltimore, the night before the Heisman ceremony in New York City.

“There were many who were worthy of this consideration, but there was only one who stood above the rest,” said John Unitas Jr., president of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. “Throughout this year, you have demonstrated the values for which this award stands both on and off the field, attributes that my dad, Johnny Unitas, would have admired greatly.”

Said Pickett in a statement: “To receive an award named after the legendary Johnny Unitas is just an incredible honor. I know the high standards he set, both as a quarterback and as a leader. Certainly, I’ll always strive to uphold those standards and represent this award the best I can. As always, I accept this award on behalf of my teammates and coaches who made this all possible.”

At a school that produced Dan Marino, Pickett set six Pitt career passing records and four single-season marks.

He is the Pitt all-time leader in career passing yards (12,303), completions (1,045), total offense (13,112 yards), touchdowns responsible for (102) and passing touchdowns (81). Plus, he rushed for 20 touchdowns, another school record for a QB.

This season, he set records for passing yards (4,319), touchdown passes (42), total touchdowns (47) and completions (334). In 13 games, he threw only seven interceptions. He also holds the ACC record for touchdown passes in a season, breaking the mark set by Clemson’s Deshaun Watson in 2016 (41).

Along with the Heisman, he is a finalist for the Maxwell, Walter Camp, Davey O’Brien, Manning and Senior CLASS awards.