Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett vows '5-7 won't happen again'

On the first day of summer camp Friday, Pitt sophomore quarterback Kenny Pickett wasted no time letting everyone know what’s expected of this team and who’s the boss.

“Last year, honestly, was embarrassing,” he said of Pitt’s first losing season in 10 years. “I was embarrassed. Some people won’t say that.

“I love to win, and we win in Pittsburgh, so 5-7 won’t happen again. I guarantee that.”

He admitted the light rain that fell on the practice fields Friday morning wasn’t ideal, but that didn’t matter.

“There are some bumps, physically, dropping balls, missed throws because of the rain,” he said. “But that’s no excuse. We’ll bounce back (Saturday) and clean it up.”

Senior offensive tackle Alex Bookser, who has been on the team since 2014, said Pickett is the only teammate allowed to tell him to shut up.

“Quarterback owns the huddle,” he said.

Pickett might be surrounded by eight seniors in the offensive huddle, but Bookser said no one will notice the quarterback is only a sophomore.

“He plays like a senior. He’s super smart, tremendous competitor, not afraid of anybody, not afraid to tell me to shut up,” Bookser said.

“He’s a different kind of guy. It’s awesome to have him leading the huddle.”

Players in his huddle are on notice: they better not have a bad day.

“You don’t show up to work today, that’s why you go 5-7,” Pickett said. “I’ll say that to the guys. Some guy’s having a bad day. Winning teams don’t have bad days. They don’t have off days like that.

“We all know the expectation. We want double-digit wins. We want to be in a January bowl game. We want all of it, so we’re going for it.”

Pickett has won the starting job after one career start as a freshman — an upset victory last year against No. 2 Miami — and he’s not taking it lightly.

“I’ve taken more of a vocal leadership role, and the guys are responding,” he said. “It comes with time. The older I get, the more reins I have.

“I feel like I have a really good hold on the offense and the team in terms of when I talk, guys listen. They look to me for advice. It’s been going well.”

The next task for Pickett is to live up to the hype. He created it by playing well in his only start and also the previous week against Virginia Tech in relief of Ben DiNucci, who transferred to James Madison after the season.

Still, Pickett has thrown only 66 passes in his collegiate career, and he will be asked to lead Pitt against a schedule that lists five teams among the top 23 in the Amway Coaches Poll: No. 8 Miami, No. 9 Penn State, No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 17 Virginia Tech and No. 23 Central Florida.

When coach Pat Narduzzi was asked about setting high expectations for a quarterback with only one start, he raised his arms high in the air.

“I guess the expectations are way up there somewhere,” he said. “But he’s still a true sophomore. He has not played that much.

“But he’s leader. We trust in that guy. I think he can explode through the roof. I think he can be really good. We can talk big things here in the next couple years, as well.”

Perhaps Pickett’s win-or-else attitude is fueled by the lack of national expectations for the team this season. A belief throughout the locker room to prove everyone wrong.

A preseason poll of media members covering the ACC placed Pitt fifth in the seven-team Coastal Division. Also, the early line pegs Penn State as a 14-point road favorite against Pitt on Sept. 8.

“It doesn’t matter,” Narduzzi said. “It only matters what we think in that room. I haven’t mentioned it all, to be honest with you, but I’m sure (players) know.

“I guess that’s where they think we are. That’s great. I like being the underdog. I like having a chip on my shoulder. I guess we’ll see.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jerry at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.