WVU Sports Hall of Fame
Noel Devine was a three-year starter at running back from 2007-10 and became WVU’s career all-purpose yardage leader (5,761 yards).
The Fort Myers, Florida, native ranks third on WVU’s career rushing chart and No. 4 in Big East history with 4,315 yards. He is WVU’s all-time running back receptions leader with 98 and third in yards with 710. Devine ranks sixth on WVU’s all-time rushing touchdown list (29) and 10th on WVU’s all-time scoring chart (186) by a position player.
Devine had 19 career 100-yard rushing games with 12 career runs of 50 yards or more, 28 runs of 30 yards or more and 36 runs of 25 yards or more. He played in four bowl games: 2008 Fiesta, 2008 Meineke Car Care, 2010 Gator and 2010 Champs Sports.
As a senior in 2010, Devine registered 1,254 all-purpose yards, giving him 1,000 or more yards all four years. He led WVU in rushing with 934 yards on 208 carries and six touchdowns. Devine was WVU’s third-leading receiver with 34 receptions for 258 yards and a touchdown. He sustained a toe bruise at LSU and an ankle injury at Louisville that slowed him for most of the season.
In 2009, Devine was a unanimous All-Big East First Team selection and was one of 16 semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, signifying the top offensive player in the nation. He led the team in rushing with 1,465 yards and 13 touchdowns. Devine was named West Virginia’s Gator Bowl MVP against Florida State after he registered a game-high 168 yards on 16 carries. Devine had a career-high 220 yards rushing against Colorado, and a career-best three rushing touchdowns against Auburn.
As a sophomore, he was named to the All-Big East Second Team, leading the Mountaineers in rushing with 1,289 yards and four touchdowns. He tallied 188 yards against Syracuse, including the second-longest run (92) in school history against the Orange. Devine set the school record with a run of 79 yards for the longest non-touchdown run vs. Louisville.
In 2007, Devine was the third-leading rusher on the team with 627 yards on 73 carries. He became the fastest WVU player to rush for 100 yards in a game on just two carries at Maryland.
Devine signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2011. He played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League in 2011, the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2012-13 and the Edmonton Eskimos in 2014. Devine participated in The Spring League in 2017 and played for the West Virginia Roughriders in 2019, helping guide them to the league championship.
He graduated from West Virginia with a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree in December 2019.
Devine owns and runs DevineSpeed LLC, a speed training business where he trains numerous athletes from different sports. He enjoys giving back to the community, doing camps in North Fort Myers and Satellite Beach, Florida, and in West Virginia. He works as a substitute teacher in North Fort Myers and as a guest teacher in the Lee Court District. He also assists with coaching football at North Fort Myers High School, where his son, Andre, plays, and coaching in the Cape Junior Football League, where his son Noel Jr. plays.
Devine and his wife, Candace, have been together since high school. They have five children, Desirae (16), Andre (15), Destyni (13), Noel Jr. (9) and Noah (5).
Desirae is heading into her junior year of high school and plays softball. Andre is heading into 10th grade and plays football, where Noel had his retired jersey reinstated for his son in 2020. Destyni, who runs track, will be in eighth grade and is currently getting ready for the Junior Olympics. Noel Jr. is going into the fourth grade and plays football, basketball and runs track.
