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).
