Pittsburgh skyline illuminated in support of Kenny Pickett

The U.S. Steel Tower, which is the tallest building in the Pittsburgh skyline, was lit up on Saturday night with messages of support for Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett. The signal-caller is in the midst of a push for the Heisman Trophy, and lights cast on the tower read “Heisman 2 Pickett,” a play on “H2P,” which stands for “hail to Pitt.”

In addition to the “Heisman 2 Pickett” message, other images cast upon the U.S. Steel Tower on Friday night included a rendering of the Heisman Trophy and Pickett’s blue and gold number eight in Pitt's font.

Pickett is on the ballot for the Heisman Trophy after a season for the ages in which he threw for 40 touchdowns and 4,066 yards and led Pitt to a 10-win regular season for the first time in 40 years. Pickett’s touchdown total broke a record for touchdown passes in a season set by Dan Marino in 1981, and his passing yardage this season topped a program record set by Rod Rutherford in 2003.

The Pitt quarterback is also the program’s leader in career passing yardage, with 12,050 yards between 2017 and 2021, and he is currently tied with Marino for the Pitt record for career touchdown passes, with 79. But Pickett has also been outstanding at the conference and national levels, as his 40 touchdowns are the most ever by an ACC signal-caller in a regular season and he enters the postseason ranked in the top 10 in passing touchdowns, passing yards and passing efficiency.

Some of Pickett’s top competitors for the Heisman Trophy include Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker II and Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. However, also on the ballot with an outside shot at the honor is Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, and Pickett will get a chance to go head to head with him in the ACC championship game on Saturday night.

Heisman voters have until 5 p.m. on Monday to cast their ballots, so the ACC title game should give Pickett a final chance to make an impression on voters. The winner of the Heisman will be announced next Saturday.