Source: Pickett doesn't practice Tuesday, Pitt football amid flu outbreak

A source tells DKPittsburghSports.com that Pitt's star quarterback Kenny Pickett didn't practice Tuesday, as Pitt's locker room has had several players dealing with an outbreak of the flu.

While there's no indication that any of Pitt's players have tested positive for COVID-19, dealing with the flu leading up to Pitt's ACC Championship Game against Wake Forest Saturday could be a major problem. Wake Forest's previous opponent, Boston College, also had several players catch the flu before playing the Demon Deacons, leading to several starters missing the game.

After Pitt's Wednesday morning practice, Pickett stood before Pittsburgh media and confirmed he did have the flu, but that he was feeling much better and would be ready for Saturday.

"Feeling a lot better now," Pickett said. "Was just a couple days of not feeling great. It's something that's been going around. But I'm feeling a lot better now and I'll be good to go for Saturday."

Whether this will prohibit any of Pickett's teammates from playing Saturday is anyone's guess, but it's looking good that the Panthers' locker room will recover by the time the Panthers have to play Saturday. Boston College's flu outbreak hit hardest later in the week, so it's likely that Pitt won't be as shorthanded as the Eagles were Saturday.

First Team All-ACC defensive tackle Calijah Kancey stated after Pitt's practice that the team was doing fine now.

"The team is great," Kancey said when asked how they were dealing with the flu. "Everybody is practicing. Everybody is good to go."

Second Team All-ACC defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado also confirmed the team was in doing well leading up to the ACC Championship Game. We'll see if that holds, as Pat Narduzzi and Pitt have always played their cards close to the chest for years about who will be available for games. But the fact that three major playmakers for the Panthers in Pickett, Kancey and Baldonado all spoke Wednesday is a good sign.

Pickett had just been named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year Wednesday, as well as First Team All-ACC Tuesday along with Kancey and Jordan Addison.

They led a group of eleven Pitt players to make All-ACC teams, including Addison who made it as a receiver and an all-purpose player. Nine other Panthers also were named as honorable mentions for the All-ACC teams: