Pitt Panthers football coach Pat Narduzzi told ESPN on Wednesday that the narrative surrounding Kenny Pickett's hand size was "a complete joke" in comments defending his former quarterback.

On Tuesday, Pickett acknowledged questions about his hands during Senior Bowl interviews. He elected not to have his throwing hand measured in Mobile, Alabama, opting instead for an official measurement at the NFL combine next month.

Pickett, ranked the No. 1 quarterback prospect on Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest Big Board, starred for the Panthers this past season, throwing for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns and getting intercepted seven times. A Heisman Trophy finalist, Pickett helped the Panthers win their first ACC football championship.

"It's a complete joke, measuring this, measuring that," Narduzzi said. "If they want to measure anything, what they should do is do open-heart surgery, go check and see how big that chest cavity is and how big the heart is inside that chest, if you really want to analyze. What are we talking about? There's nobody out there who's going to play harder and put everything he's got into it than Kenny Pickett. This kid doesn't have a flaw. That's what [scouts] do. It's the same thing at the combine, they're going to find something else to pick on him.

"It's not going to be a factor."

Pickett finished his career as Pitt's career leader in passing yards (12,303), pass completions (1,045), total offense (13,112), touchdown responsibility (102) and passing touchdowns (81) as a four-year starter under Narduzzi.