Football, family, philanthropy all important for Pickett

PITTSBURGH — Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett is learning as a rookie what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Channel 11′s Alby Oxenreiter sat down with Pickett to talk about a number of topics both on and off the field.

As far as his expectations being a rookie, he’s trying to keep an even keel. Pickett said, “Just talking to guys who have done it previously, and kind of hearing their experiences and the ups and downs of it, I think the main thing is to stay steady through it all. You know there’s going to be some positive and negative moments, but as long as I’m continuing to learn and not making the same mistake twice, I think it’ll be OK.”

Kenny Pickett on his rookie year, Steelers’ growth as a team Kenny Pickett on his rookie year, Steelers’ growth as a team

Pickett has large shoes to fill, replacing the retired Ben Roethlisberger. But Pickett took it further than that. “Ben set a great bar. Terry Bradshaw set a great bar. I had Dan Marino set a great bar before me so I’ve had tom great people to follow, and kind of see how it’s supposed to be done, and what it looks like,” said Pickett. “And I’m glad that those guys were here and kind of showed me the way and what it’s supposed to look like. And now I have guys that I can chase and you know, great role models to have.”

Pickett enjoyed having his family on this journey from the first moment. He told Channel 11, “Ever since I was a kid I can remember I said I was going to play in the NFL. Being an NFL quarterback and seeing that dream come true on draft night , with Franco announcing my name, it was really special.”

Like many Steelers before him, Kenny Pickett is involved in charity work. His aunt runs the Mya Lin Terry foundation. It started after his cousin Mya passed away from Leukemia when she was 10 years old. Pickett said, “We give money back to families in need that are kind of going through the similar situations that we did, to kind of help alleviate any stress that they have and kind of help those families out.”

PICKETT AND THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS WILL PLAY THE BALTIMORE RAVENS ON CHANNEL 11 AT 8:20 P.M.

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