For DB M.J. Devonshire, making the NFL leap to the Pittsburgh Steelers would only be a hop, skip, and a jump. Literally. Sharing a facility with the Steelers, the now former Pitt Panther would only have to make his way to the other side of the building. There’d be plenty of familiar faces to greet him.
One of many players competing at the 2024 Shrine Bowl, Devonshire hopes to make his mark and boost his draft stock.
An Aliquippa product, Devonshire began his career at Kentucky, spending three years with the Wildcats. But he transferred and returned home to Pitt for the 2021 season. In three years with the Panthers, he picked off eight passes. None were bigger than his pick-six to beat West Virginia to open the 2022 season. He followed the footsteps of Darrelle Revis while also understanding that Revis didn’t have a secret key to unlock becoming a star. Work was required to reach the level achieved by Revis, who starred at Aliquippa and Pitt before becoming a perennial All-Pro NFL cornerback.
“I always watched Darrelle,” Devonshire told our Josh Carney, who is in Texas for this year’s Shrine Bowl. “I never looked at him how everybody else looked at him. He was an idol but it was a different type of idol. I know why he’s doing it. I understand. I’ve seen the work he puts in. So it wasn’t surprising to me to see him do what he did. I could kind of see it coming. Growing up it’s like, I see what he’s doing, I gotta go do what he did to get to where he did go. To know that I put in the work just to get at least halfway to where he got.”
Devonshire made the play of his career in front of Revis, who was in attendance for the Panthers’ rivalry renewal rivalry against the Mountaineers, running back this interception 56 yards with three minutes to go, giving Pitt a 38-31 win.
While there’s an obvious Pitt to Pittsburgh link, Devonshire’s connections to the Steelers run deep. He grew up alongside Joey Porter Jr.
“My guy. I played with J.J., 7-on-7. We grew up together,” he said.
Pittsburgh has a clear need at corner opposite Porter and it figures to be one of the top spots they address either in free agency or early in the draft.
“Seeing him become one of the, I think top corners in the game, he’s showing it and I’m just happy for him,” Devonshire said of his childhood friend. “And I definitely watch a lot of his films.”
Devonshire can offer something Porter can’t. The return game. He returned 45 punts his final two years of college, including taking this one back to the house against Rhode Island in 2022.Â
Again, he followed the path laid out in front of him by those from the city like Revis and Ty Law.
“Ty being in the state game, he took the opening kickoff back. Fresh out of a SAT. Yep,” Devonshire said. “And then Darrelle, he scored five different ways, five times, five different ways. So growing up, I was two years old when Darrelle did it. And I wasn’t born when Ty did it, but I watched it. I got all the tapes.”
We’ve got the tape, too. A zany play, an Aliquippa teammate fumbled the squib kick. Law scooped it up and raced the other way, setting the tone for a 27-0 win over Hanover and state title.
Devonshire’s local roots make him an easy projection for someone like the Steelers. Mike Tomlin’s probably watched him play football since Pop Warner. And Devonshire made sure to take advantage of sharing a practice facility with an NFL team, watching how Minkah Fitzpatrick handled himself.
“Really learned how to be a pro, Devonshire said. “I get to watch a guy like Minkah…I know he wasn’t practicing, but he was still showing up, he was showing guys, and he was coaching and he was [helping] after practice.”
Devonshire declared for the draft in December. His projection remains unclear, currently tabbed as a Day Three pick, but a strong pre-draft process could boost his stock. Starting with his week at the Shrine Bowl.
