I don't know how many of you have heard of West Virginia football sensation Noel Devine, but pretty soon everyone will have heard of him. Noel Devine will be a sophomore in this upcoming college season at 20 years old. Devine was a back-up runner, behind Steve Slaton, last year when he averaged 8.6 yards a carry. Devine is listed as 5'8 and 170 pounds, and that is really pushing it. He has a few videos on YouTube which show his amazing runs as a senior in Fort Myers High School in Florida. His incredible blend of speed and breaking tackles can only be comparable to Barry Sanders.
The story behind Noel Devine is more complex than a little guy with skills that could make him an amazing NFL runner. Devine was 3 months old when his father died of AIDS, and just 11 years old when his mother died of AIDS. Devine lived with his aunt to his grandmother to other relatives from time to time, along with his eight brothers and one sister. Noel had been living with the Harlow family before college, but was involved in a custody battle. This battles was between the Harlow family and Deion Sanders. Yep, Prime Time. Deion wanted to adopt Devine, after taking him under his wing. This never happened, but Noel and Deion remain good friends. Devine brings a lot of emotion to his story, so what better way to translate this emotion than to bring it to the football field?
Off the field trouble is another troublesome issue with Noel Devine. In high school, Devine was suspended five games for cursing out his coach after a loss. Some can look at this as wanting to win and being a team player, but it isn't necessary to yell at a coach. Devine has also been the father of two children, since he was 18. He went a while before getting in trouble again. During this off-season, Devine learned that Steve Slaton was going into the NFL Draft and skipping his senior season. This would mean that Devine would be the starting running back for West Virginia (even though, I think, Devine would have won the starting job over Slaton if Slaton had stayed at school). On February 16, Devine was involved with an altercation at a bar in Morgantown, WV, along with teammate Jock Sanders. There was a fight and both Devine and Sanders were arrested for assault. However, they both pleaded no contest and were sentenced to 24 hours in jail. They can serve 24 hours community service to avoid the jail time.
Noel Devine made it out of the fire and can now concentrate on football. I hope that's what he does because he has the talent that could make him the most exciting player to walk on a football field. You have to see his videos on YouTube to believe me. The kid is just unbelievable. Anytime he gets the ball, he is a threat to run down the whole field for a touchdown. The West Virginia Mountaineers had their first scrimmage game this year last Sunday. The Gold-Blue spring game (the team is seperated into gold and blue jerseys) held the second-largest crowd in West Virginia spring game history. Noel Devine only got the ball 6 times, but he gained 39 yards out of it. Oh yeah, Devine had a 21 yard run where he displayed his tremendous speed by jetting past the defense. NCAA Football should be interesting in the upcoming season, especially with the next Barry Sanders running for West Virginia.
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