Bickhart recently graduated from the University of Pittsburgh after spending five years as a member of the Panther football team. Prior to college, the 6’ 5” wideout had a standout high school career for North Penn-Mansfield, racking up over 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons. 

Add to that all of the years Bickhart spent playing junior high and youth .. all the way back to flag football .. for the Southern Tioga Screaming Eagles, and its understandable that a young man would have contrasting feelings on being “football-free” for the first time in the past 18 years.

“It’s an adjustment .. for sure”, Bickhart says, “and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss football already .. but I’m also enjoying having a little bit of free time!”

That “free” time is now being spent working toward his entrance into Physician Assistant school, but for the past five years, Bickhart suited up every late Summer, Fall and Winter for the Pitt Panthers football team.

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Coming out of high school at North Penn-Liberty, Bickhart received limited interest from “a few” Division II and III schools, but he thought he had bypassed a collegiate football career by choosing to attend Pitt, mostly for their outstanding academic opportunities. 

After being accepted, Bickhart decided to contact Pitt’s coaching staff to ask about trying out for the team as a walk-on. After a few weeks of not hearing back, Bickhart sends one last-ditch attempt at contacting Pitt wide receiver Coach Kevin Sherman. The persistence worked, as Bickhart is contacted by Sherman and told that they liked his hastily thrown-together highlight film .. that they like his size (Bickhart admits he may have embellished his weight just a bit) .. and that he can try out on the first day of classes, less than a month away.

A very short time later, Sherman contacts Bickhart and tells him that a preferred walk-on spot had opened up, that they wanted Bickhart to fill it, and that he now had just three days to get to campus for the start of camp.

Bickhart, while ecstatic for the opportunity, was also admittedly naive to the entire process.

“I had to call them back”, Bickhart explains, “I needed to find out some details .. I thought I was still trying out, so I wanted a head’s up on what I’d be doing .. and my Dad needed to know how long to plan to stay, in case I got cut and needed to come back home!”

Bickhart says Sherman explained that he was a “105”, that there was no try out and Bickhart was on the team .. one of 105 players that FBS schools could carry until the start of classes.

Again, Bickhart was thrilled, despite the fact that he now had two days to pack for the next year of his life. A small inconvenience considering he was now officially a D1 football player.

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Bickhart looks back on his first couple of seasons as a Pitt Panther with pride .. taking advantage of the opportunity to practice both with and against some of the top players in the ACC, even though he sometimes felt out of his element.

“It was such a culture shock”, Bickhart says, “coming from high school football to high-level college football .. like night and day. I basically had to learn a new language, and at the same time learn how to run drills and physically compete against top-tier guys.”

Bickhart points to one of a few “welcome to D1 football” moments he experienced early on in his career.

“During one of my first practices”, Bickhart recalls, “we were running a drill against our d-backs and somehow I ended up at the front of the wideout line. So, not only did I not know how to get off of a corner trying to jam me on the line of scrimmage .. but I had to try and do it against Avonte Maddox .. who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles now! It didn’t go great!”

Bickhart endured through his growing pains and the learning curve by throwing himself into the process, spending extra time with his coaches. His willingness to volunteer for any assignment and his improving abilities led to Bickhart getting the chance to become a key contributor on Pitt’s scout team. His 6’ 5” frame didn’t hurt, either.

“I loved being on the scout team”, Bickhart says. “Every team we played had at least one taller receiver, so I got to be a different number one or two guy every week. And we got pretty good .. it was fun competing against our ones (starting defense) every week.”

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Going into his junior year, Bickhart had a new receiver’s coach in Chris Beatty, now with the San Diego Chargers. 

“Coach Beatty really liked me .. he saw me working hard”, Bickhart recalls, “and he appreciated that, even if I was working out as a ‘Z’, I tried to know what everyone else’s assignment was too.”

That extra effort would pay off almost immediately for Bickhart, as he’d collect the first two pass receptions of his career during extended action in Pitt’s season-opening 55-0 win against Austin Peay at Heinz Field.

“Amazing”, Bickhart says of the experience. “The only way it could have been better is if it hadn’t been during Covid, so my family and friends .. all our fans .. could have been there. But yeah, it was awesome.”

The achievements kept coming for Bickhart, as he was soon promoted to Pitt’s traveling team .. a huge accomplishment considering only the top 70 players went to away games for the Panthers.

“That was a great feeling”, Bickhart recalls. “Not just when I was told .. which was after a practice, in front of the whole team .. but just getting that feeling of being more a part of the team. Now I’d get to take snaps with the one’s and two’s at practice, and I could really make a push to get on a special teams’ unit.”

Bickhart did use the opportunity to pitch himself to the special teams’ coaches, every day. And he continued being that player that was willing to jump into any drill, any position, any scenario, which Pitt’s coaches appreciated.

“Everything in college football is ‘urgent’,” Bickhart explains. “So if a guy goes down or needs a play off, I wanted to be the first guy available when the coaches were scrambling to replace him.”

Bickhart secured a spot on the punt return team during his final season, appearing in eight games for the Panthers, including in their ACC Championship win over Wake Forest and in the Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Michigan State.

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Looking back over his time as a Pitt Panther, Bickhart is unable to pinpoint any specific ‘favorite’ moments or memories.

“There are just too many”, Bickhart explains. “From how I got here, to really falling in love with the city, gelling with coaches, making lifelong friends .. and getting to play football with them .. it’s all been incredible.”

Many of those friends Bickhart played with have, or will move on to professional football careers .. none more notable than his buddy, former roommate and Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round draft pick, Kenny Pickett.

“Kenny is a great dude”, Bickhart says, “and he really deserves everything he’s getting. He’s such a hard worker. We’d all be sitting around on a Sunday watching NFL games and Kenny would just pop up and be like, ‘I’m going to the facility to workout .. watch film .. anyone wanna go?’. He’s just built different.”

Those connections with his teammates, coaches and the entire Pitt and Pittsburgh communities all play a significant part in Bickhart’s unwavering answer when asked if he would do anything different concerning his decision to attend Pitt.

“Absolutely not”, Bickhart says.

For all of the things that he has accomplished .. the grueling schedule that he’s navigated .. the sacrifices that he’s made .. Bickhart remains as humble of a young person as I’ve ever met. While obviously proud, it is just not in his nature to talk about himself at length .. let alone “brag” in anyway about his achievements, or where he made them at. 

So, allow me to do it for him!

This young man from Liberty, PA will be entering the medical field with a degree from the University of Pittsburgh .. the ‘U-P’ in UPMC .. the world renowned health care provider. Yes, THAT UPMC.

Bickhart obtained his undergrad degree in four and a half years .. every day of which he also had the obligation of holding down the full-time job of being a Division I football player, for the 2021 ACC champs. In the same uniform worn by legendary players such as Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin, Larry Fitzgerald, Darrelle Revis, Aaron Donald and countless others. 

Could he have gone to a Division II or III school and earned more playing time? Sure. Had more free time? Absolutely. Instead, he chose to work his tail off and become a contributor on the No. 13 college football team in the country .. at one of the top undergraduate health care colleges in the country.

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So, having had the game of football basically dominate the last 18 years of his young life .. what is one thing that Bickhart would like to do this Fall, with the ‘downtime’ that he has never truly experienced?

Not a single person who knows Garrett Bickhart is surprised by his response .. 

“I really want to get home”, Bickhart says, “and get out to Island Park for a practice .. maybe show the guys some stuff. Play some catch. Talk football.”

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