Cody Pickett

Cody J. Pickett[1] (born June 30, 1980) is a former professional gridiron football quarterback in the National Football League and Canadian Football League. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, and played college football at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Cody Pickett

Pickett with Toronto in 2008
No. 3
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1980-06-30) June 30, 1980 Caldwell, Idaho
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:	Caldwell (ID)
College:	Washington
NFL Draft:	2004 / Round: 7 / Pick: 217
Career history
San Francisco 49ers (2004–2005) Houston Texans (2006)* Rhein Fire (2007) Oakland Raiders (2007)* Toronto Argonauts (2007–2009) Montreal Alouettes (2010) Calgary Stampeders (2010)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
CFL status:	International
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-Pac-10 (2002)
Career NFL statistics
TD-INT: 0–4 Passing yards: 195 QB Rating: 16.4 Player stats at NFL.com
Career CFL statistics
TD-INT: 4–5 Passing yards: 2,163
Player stats at CFL.ca (archive)

Early years

Born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho, Pickett was a four-sport athlete at Caldwell High School and graduated in 1999. He lettered in football, basketball, golf, and rodeo, in which he was a national champion. Originally recruited by Jim Lambright at Washington, Pickett accepted a scholarship from new head coach Rick Neuheisel to play for the Huskies.[2]

Pickett's family home was located off Chicken Dinner Road, near Caldwell.[2][3]

College career

As a true freshman at Washington in 1999, Pickett was the backup to starter Marques Tuiasosopo and saw limited action; he was granted a medical redshirt for an ailing back in the last half of the season. He was the backup again to Tuiasosopo in 2000; the Huskies went 11–1, won the Rose Bowl over Purdue, and finished third in the final polls.

Pickett was the starting quarterback at UW for three seasons from 2001–03, where his primary target was wide receiver Reggie Williams. Rather than enter the 2003 NFL Draft in the spring, Pickett chose to return to Washington for his senior season at age 23. His senior season saw a head coaching change, as Neuheisel was dismissed in the summer of 2003 and replaced with Keith Gilbertson. He was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and written up in Sports Illustrated, but a shoulder injury that year hurt his chances.[4]

Awards and honors

• Honorable mention Academic All-Pac-10 (2000)
• Honorable mention All-Pac-10 (2001)
• Huskies Offensive Most Valuable Player (2002)
• Second-team All-Pac-10 (2002)
• Honorable mention SI All-American (2002)
• Honorable mention CollegeFootballNews.com All-American (2002)

Statistics

Year	Team	Passing								Rushing
		Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1999	Washington	0	4	0.0	0	0.0	0	1	-50.0	0	0	0.0	0
2000	Washington	1	2	50.0	12	6.0	0	0	100.4	0	0	0.0	0
2001	Washington	169	301	56.1	2,403	8.0	10	14	124.9	83	60	0.7	5
2002	Washington	365	612	59.6	4,458	7.3	28	14	131.4	86	-185	-2.2	3
2003	Washington	257	454	56.6	3,043	6.7	15	13	118.1	80	-60	-0.8	3
Career		792	1,373	57.7	9,916	7.2	53	42	125.0	249	-186	-0.7	11

Source[5]

Professional career

Pickett was selected in the seventh round (217th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Pickett started the 2005 season as the fourth-string quarterback, but became the starter after Tim Rattay was traded, and Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey were injured. Pickett played on special teams most of the season, an unusual role for a quarterback.[6] He also played safety and wide receiver during practice.

Pickett demonstrates a quarterback slide at a 2009 Argonauts training camp fan day.

Pickett was traded on July 27, 2006 to the Houston Texans for a conditional draft pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He was released by the Texans on September 1, 2006. Pickett was selected to the 2007 Rhein Fire NFL Europe team as a free agent and was their starting quarterback.

In July 2007, the Oakland Raiders signed Pickett to a one-year contract, but released him on August 1.

On September 18, 2007, Pickett was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. Pickett made his first CFL game appearance on September 12, 2008 against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Rogers Centre in relief of starting quarterback Kerry Joseph. He made his first CFL start on September 20, 2008, against the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium.[7][8]

On August 11, 2009, head coach Bart Andrus named Cody Pickett as the starting quarterback for the team's next game, against the B.C. Lions.[9]

On February 21, 2010, Pickett was released by the Argonauts. On March 8, 2010, Pickett was signed by the Montreal Alouettes.[10] On June 7, 2010, Cody Pickett was released by the Montreal Alouettes. On June 15, 2010, Pickett was signed by the Calgary Stampeders.

Following the 2010 CFL season, Pickett retired from pro football and returned to Idaho.[11]

NFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	Passing								Rushing
				Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2004	SF	1	0	4	10	40.0	55	5.5	0	2	18.7	1	5	5.0	0
2005	SF	5	2	14	35	40.0	140	4.0	0	2	28.3	13	42	3.2	0
Career		6	2	18	45	40.0	195	4.3	0	4	16.4	14	47	3.4	0

Source:[12]

Personal life

Pickett's father is Dee Pickett, a championship roper on professional rodeo circuit and the 1984 World Champion Cowboy, inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in August 2003. Dee also played college football; a junior college transfer, he was the starting quarterback at Boise State in 1976 and 1977.[13][14][15]

In the offseason, Pickett coached his younger sister's basketball team, Team 208, a travel team representing the Boise, Idaho area. He is the current head coach for the Eagle High School girls basketball team in Eagle, Idaho.

See also

• Washington Huskies football statistical leaders

References

1. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PickCo00.htm
2. Sherwin, Bob (2005-11-04). "Learning the Ropes of Cowhide and Pigskin". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
3. "QB raised cowboy tough on Chicken Dinner Road". Calgary Herald. 2008-09-17. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
4. Maki, Allan (2008-09-17). "Pickett's background overshadows credentials". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
5. "Cody Pickett". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
6. Condotta, Bob (March 24, 2011). "Cody Pickett looks back after retirement from football". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
7. "Argonauts to start Pickett instead of Joseph against Stamps". TSN.ca. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
8. "Argos' Joseph ready to support starting QB Pickett". TSN.ca. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
9. Girard, Daniel (2009-08-12). "Argos turn to Pickett to spark offence". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-23. Retrieved 2010-03-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. The Seattle Times – Cody Pickett looks back after retirement from football – 2011-03-24
12. "Cody Pickett". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
13. Evancho, Bob (August 28, 1981). "Dee Pickett wasn't roped into the rodeo". Tri-City Herald. p. 22.
14. Gerheim, Earl (April 3, 1983). "Cowboys are athletes, that's Pickett's charge". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D4.
15. Zelkovich, Chris (2009-09-04). "Cowboy turned quarterback ready to ride". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-09-17.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
• Cody Pickett at the Canadian Football League at the Wayback Machine (archived June 22, 2015)
• Cody Pickett at CFL (alternate link) at the Wayback Machine (archived August 14, 2013)
• Cody Pickett at DatabaseFootball.com at the Wayback Machine (archived July 29, 2016)
• Toronto Argonauts profile