PITTSBURGH — When Kenny Pickett walks through the tunnel and out onto the Heinz Field turf on Saturday, it will be the last time as a college quarterback.

For real this time.

A year ago, the Pittsburgh star went through the “Senior Day” festivities and threw for 404 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Virginia Tech before seeming to wave good-bye.

Call it one of the best play-action fakes — and best business decisions — by a college athlete in recent history. Pickett ultimately opted to return for one last run, a decision that helped make him a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate, rewrite a significant portion of the Pitt record book, and propelled the 20th-ranked Panthers (8-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) to the cusp of their second Coastal Division title in four years.

It’d be a fitting bookend for a player who made his initial splash as a true freshman in the 2017 regular-season finale, when he orchestrated an upset of then-unbeaten Miami. That signature moment set the stage for three years of solid but not always spectacular play.