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 receiverReggie 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]
Pickett held the Huskies' single-season record for passing yards (4,458) from 2002 until 2022, when Michael Penix Jr. passed for 4,641 yards. However, Pickett played 12 games in 2002 while Penix played 13 games in 2022, so Pickett holds the single-season record for passing yards per game.
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 FireNFL 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 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.[10]
On February 21, 2010, Pickett was released by the Argonauts. On March 8, 2010, Pickett was signed by the Montreal Alouettes.[11] 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.[12]
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 boys basketball team in Eagle, Idaho.