M.J. Devonshire

M.J. Devonshire enjoyed a successful high school career while attending a traditional Pennsylvania football powerhouse, Aliquippa High School. There he was a three-sport athlete excelling at football, track and basketball. During his high school career, Devonshire returned eight kickoff or punts for touchdowns, which just put him one away from tying the national record. He was named Post-Gazette Co-Player of the Year and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Athlete of the Year. He was rated as a 3-star recruit by ESPN and 247 Sports during his senior season and opted to play football at Kentucky. Devonshire only played in 3 games as a freshman at Kentucky, preserving his redshirt. In 2020, as a red-shirt freshman, Devonshire played sparingly in 9 games for the Wildcats and shortly after, entered the transfer portal, coming back home to play for the Pitt Panthers. In his first season as a Panther, Devonshire played 13 games in a reserve role and had one interception. That interception was an overtime, goal-line pick that helped Pitt beat North Carolina on their way to playing in the ACC Championship. In 2022, Devonshire starred, playing in 13 games, starting 9 of them at cornerback. He also contributed as a punt returner on special teams and was named second team All-ACC as a return specialist. He scored 3 touchdowns in 2022 (2 interceptions and 1 punt return) to become the first Panther since Darrelle Revis in 2006 to score a touchdown via interception and punt return in the same season. In 2023, Devonshire played in 12 games and collected 32 tackles. He also had 4 interceptions, returning 1 for a touchdown.