Noel Devine Noel Devine ( born February 16 , 1988 ) is an American football running back for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League . He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and was released four days later after leaving the squad . He played college football at West Virginia . He had a successful football career for the West Virginia Mountaineers . He was a former blue chip prospect and holds many high school rushing records . Devine completed his freshman season at West Virginia University , finishing with 73 carries for 627 yards and 6 touchdowns . Devine ended the season with 1 , 316 all - purpose yards , the 24th most in a single - season in school history . His performance in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl included a 65 - yard TD run , the longest run by a West Virginia player in the school ' s NCAA bowl history . High school career . Devine went to North Fort Myers High School , the same high school attended by NFL stars Deion Sanders and Jevon Kearse . Devine rushed for 627 yards and averaged 8 . 6 yards per carry as a freshman . In his sophomore year , Noel had 1289 yards and 23 TDs on 206 carries , for an average of 6 . 3 . One of his most impressive games of his 10th grade year was in the 63 - 7 victory over Estero High . Devine rushed for 365 yards and six touchdowns on only nine carries . Devine also returned the kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown . As a Junior , Devine rushed for 1 , 986 yards and 24 touchdowns on 173 carries , averaging 11 . 5 yards per carry . In his senior year , Devine totaled 2 , 148 yards and 31 touchdowns . On October 20 , 2006 , Noel became the all - time leader in rushing yards for Lee County , surpassing former Mariner High School student and Tampa Bay running back Earnest Graham Coincidentally , it was Graham ' s alma mater against which Devine was playing when the record was broken - he scored on a 65 - yard touchdown run late in the 3rd quarter . He finished his high school career with 92 touchdowns , another Lee County record . In the U . S . Army All - American Bowl game , he amazingly took David Green ' s kickoff back 88 yards before catching his big right toe on the turf and falling just short of the end zone . Devine was the # 3 ranked running back ( and # 6 prospect overall ) in the nation by ESPN ' s 2007 Recruit Tracker . Before signing with West Virginia , he was recruited by coaches from some of the nation ' s other top collegiate programs , such as the University of Nebraska , University of Alabama and Florida State University . Collegiate career . Freshman season . Devine got his first chance to play in the 4th quarter of West Virginia ' s season opener against Western Michigan . Devine showed his speed as he beat the defense to the corner as he went 23 yards after spinning off of a defender . Devine scored his first collegiate touchdown on an 8 - yard run to score WVU ' s final score , as the # 3 ranked Mountaineers beat Western Michigan 62 - 24 . Devine finished the game with 7 carries for 44 yards and a reception for 19 yards . In the second game of the season , Devine helped the WVU seal a 4th quarter victory over in - state rival Marshall . Devine only had 5 carries , but managed to rack up 76 yards and 2 touchdowns to help the third ranked Mountaineers beat the Thundering Herd 48 - 23 . Devine also had two kickoff returns for 40 yards . His longest run of the day was 39 yards . In the third game of the season , against Maryland , Devine had the best game of the season to that point . In the 31 - 14 win , Devine rushed for 136 yards on just 5 carries ; a 27 . 2 yards average . His biggest run of the day was a 76 yards dash down the sideline to the one - yard line . On his next carry he juked out a number of defenders and spun off a facemask grab to cap off the 18 - yard gain . He also had one reception for two yards and two kick returns for 47 yards . Devine took only two carries to reach 100 yards against Maryland . In the next game against ECU , Devine had 7 rushes for 11 yards , a reception for 7 yards and a kick return for 25 yards . In the Mountaineers ' first loss of the season against USF , 21 - 13 , Devine had 4 carries for 36 yards . He also had 36 yards on two kick returns . In the 55 - 14 win over Syracuse , Devine was held to 13 yards on 4 carries , with 33 yards on two kick returns . Devine sat out the Mississippi State game . Against twenty - fifth - ranked Rutgers , Devine had 6 carries for 40 yards . Against Louisville , Devine had 2 rushes for 11 yards and one reception for 4 yards . He also had 4 kick returns for 97 yards , including a 41 - yarder . After the 38 - 31 Louisville win , rumors circulated that Devine was mad about lack of playing time and had supposedly " torn up his locker " in a fit of anger . In an article with Rivals . com , Devine dismissed the rumors saying , " If I really wanted to play I would have gone to a sorry team . . . I didn ' t expect a lot of playing time . " Devine also said , " I think I have played fairly . There ' s people that are not playing and they ' re on the team and they ' re happy . You got a great running back ahead of you . Really , I ' m not expecting a lot . " In the 28 - 23 road win against twenty - second - ranked Cincinnati , Devine had only 23 yards on 2 carries , including a 17 - yard rush . However , had four kick returns for 86 yards , averaging 21 . 5 yards per return . In the Big East Championship - clinching 66 - 21 win over twentieth - ranked Connecticut , Devine rushed for 118 yards and a score on 11 carries , which ranked second - best on the team , trailing only quarterback Pat White . Subsequently , the then second - ranked Mountaineers were upset 13 - 9 by Pittsburgh in the 100th edition of the Backyard Brawl . Devine had only 11 yards on 7 carries ; a 1 . 6 average . However in the 4th quarter , Devine returned a kickoff 48 yards in the final minutes of the game . But , ultimately , the Mountaineers were stopped on fourth down to end the game . Devine would finish his freshman season in West Virginia ' s Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma . After losing Steve Slaton to a leg injury in the first quarter , Devine filled in for WVU with 105 yards on 12 carries and 2 touchdowns , including a 65 - yard run which provided the final score of the game . The run broke a West Virginia bowl record for longest rush and was the second longest play from scrimmage for the Mountaineers in the season . He also returned 4 kickoffs for 88 yards , a 22 . 0 yards average , and pulled in two receptions for 47 yards . Devine was given honorable mention for the Freshman All - American team by various sources , including SportingNews , and was awarded the team ' s Danny Van Etten Rookie of the Year Award by head coach Rich Rodriguez . After Rich Rodriguez left the team before the 2008 Fiesta Bowl that offseason Devine thought about transferring . He finished his freshman season with 73 carries for 627 yards and 6 touchdowns . He also added 7 receptions for 90 yards and 26 returns for 599 yards . Devine ended the season with 1 , 316 all - purpose yards , the 21st most in a single - season in school history . Devine also finished the year ranked tenth in the Big East in rushing yards per game and # 5 in the conference in kickoff return yards . Sophomore season . After former head coach Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia and announced his decision to accept the head coaching job at the University of Michigan , Noel Devine considered transferring , but decided he would finish his career at West Virginia . On January 14 , 2008 , West Virginia starting running back Steve Slaton announced his desire to enter the NFL Draft instead of returning for his senior season . Slaton ' s departure meant Devine would be the probable starter for the 2008 season . Devine and quarterback Pat White were named the # 1 " scary star " of the 2008 by Rivals . com . Shortly afterwards , the Mountaineers began their first spring practice . West Virginia running backs coach , Chris Beatty , said of Devine , “ He ’ s as quick as he looked on television . . . So quick and yet he has great patience and things like that . My goal is to just let him run fast and do the things he does so well . ” Devine also commented that he could handle at least 30 carries a game as the feature back , despite his size ; which he said he wanted to jump up to 180 pounds . Head coach Bill Stewart also said that Devine maxed out at 405 pounds at the bench press during the spring . To begin the 2008 season , Noel Devine rushed for 47 yards on 9 carries and also had 37 yards on 6 receptions in the season opening victory against the Villanova Wildcats , 48 - 21 . In the following 24 - 3 loss to the ECU Pirates , Devine rushed 12 times for 94 yards ( 7 . 8 yard per carry average ) and returned two kickoffs for 47 yards . In West Virginia ' s following 17 - 14 overtime loss to Colorado , Devine rushed 26 times for 133 yards and also had 11 yards on three receptions ( second on the team in rushing behind quarterback Pat White ) . In the 27 - 3 victory over Marshall , Devine rushed 14 times for 125 yards ( 8 . 9 yards per run ) and his first touchdown of the season . To begin Big East play , Devine rushed 19 times for 55 yards , a 2 . 9 yard per carry average , in the 24 - 17 victory over Rutgers . In the following 17 - 6 victory over Syracuse , Devine rushed for 188 yards on 18 carries for a touchdown . His 188 yards was a career - high , and his 92 - yard rushing touchdown in the 4th quarter not only was a career - long , but also was the second - longest rush in school and stadium history . Devine ' s performance in the Syracuse win won him the Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors . Following the 188 - yard performance against Syracuse , Devine totaled a career - high 207 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in the Mountaineers ' 34 - 17 victory over Auburn . For the game , Devine recorded six runs of at least 20 yards . The two - game stretch totaled 395 yards and two touchdowns . West Virginia then defeated # 25 UCONN 35 - 13 , the team ' s first road win of the season , in which Devine rushed 17 times for 60 yards - a 3 . 5 yard per rush average . However , West Virginia was then defeated by Cincinnati in a 26 - 23 overtime loss , as the Mountaineers rallied from being down 20 - 7 with under two minutes left in the game to tie it and send it to overtime . Devine , however , finished the game with 19 rushes for 58 yards and 6 receptions for 48 yards - a total of 106 yards of offense . Devine and West Virginia bounced back in the following 35 - 21 victory over Louisville in their annual rivalry game . Devine posted his fifth 100 - yard rushing game on the season with 154 yards on 13 carries . The performance included a 79 - yard run , which was a school record for the longest non - touchdown run in school history . However , the Mountaineers then lost in the Backyard Brawl to Pittsburgh 19 - 15 . Devine carried the ball 12 times for 17 yards - a 1 . 4 yard per carry average - and caught 3 passes for 6 yards in the loss . Devine finished out the regular season with 17 carries for 90 yards and 3 receptions for 21 yards - 111 total yards of offense - in the 13 - 7 win over South Florida , however Devine did not start as head coach Bill Stewart said he was disappointed in his performance the prior week . However , Devine was named a second - team All - Big East selection following the victory . In the Meineke Car Care Bowl victory over North Carolina , Devine rushed 13 times for 61 yards and a touchdown . He finished his sophomore season with 1 , 289 yards and 4 touchdowns . Junior season . On January 14 , 2010 , Devine announced his intention to forgo the NFL draft and returned for his senior season with the Mountaineers . Senior season . Devine won his fourth Big East Offensive Player of the Week for games ending September 13 , 2010 . He had 174 all - purpose yards and registered his 17th career game with at least 100 rushing yards to lead West Virginia to a 24 - 21 overtime win at Marshall . He had 23 carries for 112 yards , including a fourth - quarter touchdown run that allowed the Mountaineers to overcome a 21 - 6 deficit . He also had a career - high 10 receptions for 62 yards . With 122 yards rushing against the Syracuse Orange on October 23 , 2010 , Devine eclipsed 4 , 000 career rushing yards . He becomes the fourth player in Big East history to rush for 4 , 000 career yards joining fellow Mountaineers Avon Cobourne , Pat White and Rutgers ' Ray Rice . A reason why he was not a top draft pick was because he had an ankle injury during his senior year and affected him in a big game against Louisiana State University ( LSU ) . Draft experts say that Devine is too small and has a forward lean when he runs which causes him to fumble a lot . He also is too injury prone to be a top running back in the NFL . Professional career . 2011 NFL Draft . Despite Devine ' s high profile coming out of high school and subsequent successful college career , he was projected to be a seventh - round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft . He did not perform at the NFL Combine due to injury . Devine went undrafted due to his size and injuries sustained during his senior season . Philadelphia Eagles . Devine was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent on July 26 , 2011 . The Eagles waived him on July 30 after he left the squad . Omaha Nighthawks . The Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League signed Devine on August 18 , 2011 . Montreal Alouettes . Devine signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on February 10 , 2012 . In six games with the Alouettes , Devine has fumbled six times , including a three - fumble game on August 8 during a 38 - 13 loss to the Toronto Argonauts . After fumbling a punt - return in the fourth period , he left that game with an ankle injury . In a telephone interview with the " Montreal Gazette " on August 9 , interim head coach and general manager Jim Popp suggested Devine may be released by the team , when and if he is cleared to play by the medical staff . Personal life . Devine was only three months old when his father died in 1988 of complications from AIDS , and 11 years old when his mother also died of AIDS . Custody passed to his maternal grandmother , but the two were not compatible . Eventually , Noel moved in with Liz and Robert Harlow Sr , parents of one of Noel ' s friends . By his junior year in high school , Devine had fathered two children by two different women . He was also witness to a shooting in late 2004 , in which one of his friends , 15 - year - old Rashard Patterson , was killed by a shotgun blast to the chest . Devine has a relationship with Deion Sanders , who himself is a graduate of North Fort Myers High School . At one point , Sanders planned to become Devine ' s legal guardian . Devine moved to Prosper , Texas , where he lived with Sanders , but after a few weeks , he took Sanders ' wife ' s vehicle to the Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport , where a plane ticket back to Florida awaited him . Devine and Sanders remained in contact , perhaps more so as the 2007 signing day approached , when Sanders assisted Devine in preparing to sign a letter of intent to play football in the college ranks . Sanders revealed the nature of his mentor role in Devine ' s decisions in his column for " The News - Press " , a Fort Myers news outlet . He had recommended that a prep school would better prepare Devine for college . Devine was interviewed by " ESPN The Magazine " under their NEXT editions , which picks the next big athlete of the year . Devine was a nominee for the 2008 edition , along with Brandon Roy , Joba Chamberlain , Tyson Gay , Patrick Willis , and Novak Đoković . In the interview , Devine stated that his idol is Barry Sanders , and that his best game of his career at that point was against Maryland .