Who is Kenny Pickett?
Kenneth Shane Pickett, popularly known as Kenny Pickett is an American professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Pickett played college football for the University of Pittsburgh, winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as a senior. He was then picked in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Steelers.
Kenny Pickett Career
College career
2017 season
Kenny spent most of his true freshman season at Pittsburgh as a backup to Max Browne and Ben DiNucci in 2017. He then began his first career game in the team’s last game of the season against the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes. During Pittsburgh’s upset win, Pickett finished 18 of 29 passes for 193 yards with a touchdown and also rushed for 60 yards and 2 touchdowns. In total, he finished 39 of 66 passes for 509 yards and 1 touchdown, and 1 interception for the season.
2018 season
In 2018, he came back as the team’s starter. He began all 14 games, finishing 180 of 310 passes for 1,969 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. Pickett guided the Panthers to their first-ever ACC Coastal Division Championship in his first season as the full-time starter. The Associated Press rated the Panthers as high as the No. 24 team in the country at one point in the 2018 season. The Panthers then went on to lose 14-13 to Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
2019 season
He started again as the starter in 2019, making 12 starts and missing out on 1 game because of injury. Pickett finished 289 of 469 passes for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. This was the team’s first season with Mark Whipple acting as the offensive coordinator, who increased the number of passes the offense threw each week. He guided the team to a 7-5 record heading into the postseason. The Panthers were then picked to the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Michigan, and beat Eastern Michigan 34-30. Kenny threw for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Taysir Mack in the last minutes of the game.
2020 season
Kenny and the team took part in a shortened season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, going 6-5. He played in 9 games and threw for 2,408 yards and 13 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in that stretch. The Associated Press rated the team as high as the No. 21 team in the country at one point in the 2020 season. Although the team was eligible for a bowl game, they collectively chose to opt out of taking part in the postseason.
How old is Kenny Pickett?
Kenneth Shane Pickett is aged 24 as of 2022, having been born on June 6, 1998, in Ocean Township, New Jersey, U.S. He shares his birthday with famous people including Ryan Higa, Rachel Brockman, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Carole Baskin, Jason Isaacs, Natalie Morales, Collin Quinn, Sonya Walger, and many more.
Kenny Pickett Family
Who are Kenny Pickett’s parents?
Kenneth Shane Pickett was born in Ocean Township, New Jersey to his athletic parents, Ken Pickett and his wife Kasey Pickett. Ken was a professional football player at Shippensburg University, an All-American linebacker, and is a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame. His parents have inspired and encouraged Pickett in his football career. His mother was a player of soccer at Kutztown University.
Does Kenny Pickett have siblings?
Pickett was born to his parents into a family of two children and brought up in the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township. He has one sibling, a sister Alex Pickett, who played soccer at East Stroudsburg University.
Kenny Pickett Education
Pickett attended Ocean Township High School, where he played football for the Ocean Township Spartans. He initially committed to playing college football at Temple University but changed his commitment to the University of Pittsburgh. Pickett then joined the University of Pittsburgh, where he went on to play college football from 2017 to 2021. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and enrolled at Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business in 2021.
Kenny Pickett Partner
Pickett is currently not married but is engaged to his beautiful and loving girlfriend Amy Paternoster. She is an athlete and plays soccer for the Princeton Tigers. The lovebirds got engaged in 2022, and Amy revealed the engagement on her Instagram account in January 2022.
Kenny Pickett Children
Pickett and his fiancee, Paternoster are not yet married but do not have any children of their own as of date.
Kenny Pickett Height
Pickett has a well-built, athletic, and physically fit body adding up to an outstanding height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)and a weight of 100 kg (220 lbs).
2021 season
The NCAA gave all 2020 fall athletes an extra year of eligibility, and Kenny used his option to go back as the Panther’s starting quarterback in 2021. He took advantage of his last year of eligibility and broke out among the nation’s top players. Pickett recorded 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns setting school records for single-season yards and touchdowns and also career yards and touchdowns. He was then named a first-team All-American and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy completing in 3rd place.
The Panthers won the ACC Championship and completed 11-2 in games Kenny started, the school’s best record since 1976. Pickett was named the men’s ACC Athlete of the Year across all sports, sharing honors with women’s recipient Charlotte North of Boston College lacrosse, that July.
Professional career
Pickett was picked in the first round (20th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the latest quarterback was first taken in a draft since 1997. He was then named the backup quarterback for the team behind starter Mitchell Trubisky on September 6, 2022.
2022
Kenny made his NFL Debut in the second half of a Week 4 defeat by the New York Jets following starter Mitchell Trubisky being benched. Pickett finished 10 of 13 passes for 120 yards and rushed for 2 touchdowns, but threw 3 interceptions in the 24-20 loss. In his first career pass attempt, he threw a deep ball to Chase Claypool that bounced off his hands and was intercepted by Jordan Whitehead. On his second drive, he scrambled into the end zone for his first-ever touchdown in his NFL career. He was then named the starter by head coach Mike Tomlin on October 4, 2022. Pickett finished 34 of 51 passes for 327 yards and an interception in the 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills in his first career start.
Kenny Pickett Net Worth
American football quarterback, Pickett plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL from 2022 to the present, having been drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. He receives a salary of $3.5 million and has amassed an estimated net worth of approximately $5 million as of 2022.