In his first official day on the practice field as a Pittsburgh Steeler, new quarterback Kenny Pickett said he felt rather comfortable overall making the shorter walk from the Steelers’ locker room to the practice field, compared to the walk from the Pittsburgh Panthers’ locker room to the far practice field at the South Side Facility.
Pickett was one of a number of players participating in the Steelers’ first official rookie minicamp session Friday and had all eyes on him. Unlike other rookies in the class outside of maybe sixth-round draft pick Connor Hayward, there’s not much of an adjustment for Pickett, being in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh.
The only real adjustment for Pickett now, at least off the field, is being Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback rather than Kenny Pickett, Pitt Panthers’ quarterback.
“Yeah, it’s been a little bit different,” Pickett said to reporters following his first minicamp session on the South Side, according to video via Steelers.com. “But you know, I love this city. It’s like my second home, so I feel really comfortable in the city of Pittsburgh.”
As we’ve written about extensively here at Steelers Depot, not having to worry about adjusting to a new city, learning the quickest route to the practice facility or figuring out where to shop for essentials will do wonders for Picket’s overall adjustment to the NFL as a whole. Of course, the games still must be played on the field where it matters most, but taking some of the external stresses away from a rookie making a significant leap will only help overall.
Still, that moment he hit the practice field Friday was different for Pickett, who knows he way around the South Side facility overall.
“Yeah, shorter walk and different colors,” Pickett said regarding his thoughts the moment he hit the practice field. “In the end though it’s football. It’s something I love to do and it’s great to be out here.”
