Pat Narduzzi said the Duratz Athletic Complex where the Pitt football team lives and works was rocking Tuesday night.

And he wasn’t talking about the trains that rumble through the South Side.

On the eve of national letter of intent day, the biggest news came from a player who signed nearly four years ago.

Senior quarterback Kenny Pickett decided to use the free year of eligibility granted to all student-athletes by the NCAA — this year only — and return to Pitt for the 2021 season and delay his NFL aspirations until 2022.

Pickett is on his way to becoming the first Pitt quarterback to start games in five seasons, passing the record of four he shares with Alex Van Pelt, Dan Marino, Rick Trocano and John Congemi.

While discussing his 21-man class of 2021 on Wednesday, Narduzzi said Pickett reached his decision after many conversations between the two of them since the end of the season. Plus, there were several phone calls back-and-forth from Oakhurst, N.J., and the South Side between the coach and Pickett’s parents.

Narduzzi said Pickett, who had been invited to the Senior Bowl, even discussed it with Peyton Manning after previously attending his quarterback camp.

“Kenny thought long and hard,” Narduzzi said. “At one point (Tuesday night), he said, ‘I’m struggling.’ A half-hour later, he wasn’t struggling.

“He sent me a text (that said), ‘Coach, I love Pittsburgh. I love this team. I’m coming back to finish what I started.’

Narduzzi’s idea was to withhold the news until Thursday, so it wouldn’t get lost amidst signing day. A minute later, another text appeared on Narduzzi’s phone. It was the tweet Pickett posted of the news.

“That’s the biggest signing of the class,” wide receivers coach Chris Beatty said. “The confidence Kenny brings is immense. You can tell that from the time when he’s not out on the field.

“The receiver room is happy about it. The O-Line room is happy about it, and the whole building is happy about it. He makes us a better team, clearly.”

Added defensive line coach Charlie Partridge: “I’m happy for Kenny. We’re all thrilled. It says a lot for Kenny’s feelings toward this program. He intends to come back here and have a special year and go on and have an amazing career beyond Pitt as a quarterback.”

Narduzzi credited offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple for tapping into his NFL contacts — he has been on staffs with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns — to gauge how the pros view Pickett.

“He did his homework,” Narduzzi said of Pickett. “ ‘Where am I going to go? What can I do to improve?’ ”

Narduzzi said there’s a chance Pickett could coax some other Pitt seniors to return with him. Beatty said wide receiver D.J. Turner is considering his options.

“We’ll see,” Narduzzi said. “Just like these high school players, each individual has to make a decision for them.

“Not for Kenny. Not for me. It’s for their personal reasons. I don’t want any regrets. I want them to come back because they want to come back, but I want them to come back for them.”

Beatty said he has talked “at length” with Turner, including Wednesday.

“I’ll let him go through the process to figure out what he wants to do,” Beatty said.

“He’s still in the process of mulling over his decision. Kenny is your best recruiter right now. We’ll see where that goes.”

When Narduzzi was asked if it is accurate to assume that Pickett came back to work with Whipple, his position coach for the past two seasons, Narduzzi said, “Yeah, it’s safe to say. I hope so. He came back to work with me, too.”

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