Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi Says Kenny Pickett Hand Size Concerns Are 'A Complete Joke'

With all due respect to the Masters, the annual consternation over the hand sizes of NFL draft-eligible quarterbacks is a tradition unlike any other.

This year, the spotlight is on Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, and his collegiate head coach Pat Narduzzi is not happy about it, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson:

"It's a complete joke, measuring this, measuring that. 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, who is currently attending the Senior Bowl, has chosen to delay his hand-size measurements until the NFL Scouting Combine in March.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network explained why:

As noted by Chase Goodbread of NFL.com, an AFC area scout said that Pickett's hand size "is under nine [inches], for sure."

That hand size didn't matter when Pickett was carving up defenses last year to the tune of 4,319 passing yards, 42 touchdowns (seven interceptions) and 8.7 yards per attempt en route to leading Pitt to the ACC title.

Ultimately, hand size concerns aren't anything new. Of note, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's hand size came into question two years ago, but the signal-caller fired back at his critics:

Burrow and his nine-inch hands have since led the Bengals to their Super Bowl appearance in 33 years.

It's up for debate in regards to how Pickett will fare in the pros, but it's highly unlikely his hand size will have anything to do with it.