It appears that M.J. Devonshire will be taking his talents to the NFL after all.
Devonshire — who has not officially declared for the 2024 NFL Draft yet — has accepted an invite to the Shrine Bowl. So, it would appear that Devonshire has played his last snap as a Pitt Panther.
Devonshire will be joined at the 2024 Shrine Bowl by Matt Goncalves, who declared for the NFL Draft and accepted an invite to the All-Star game earlier Wednesday, and the pair will be just the latest Panthers to make a Shrine Bowl appearance.
It wasn’t always the easiest season for Devonshire, especially not after entering the season with sky-high expectations, internally and externally, but he was exemplary at times against very good quarterbacks in very good offenses. And he knew he was capable of it, of course.
“Everybody has to face adversity at some point in your life, and coach Junko says it best, never get too high, never get too low, and maybe through the offseason I got too high,” Devonshire said during the season. “God has a plan for everybody, I truly believe that and I trusted it, there were some dark days, but when it stops raining, the sun gotta come out. You just gotta pray and keep going, and one day the sun’s going to come out.”
Devonshire finished the 2023 season with 32 tackles (18 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, four intereceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and 10 pass breakups. He was a workhorse in 2023, taking a team-high 662 defensive snaps, and according to PFF, he allowed a 47.4 completion percentage when targeted by opposing quarterbacks.
In his Pitt career, after playing his first two seasons at Kentucky, he finished with 83 tackles (51 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, eight interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and 21 pass breakups. And he was an All-ACC punt returner in 2022.
Devonshire should measure and test well at Shrine Bowl, and likely at the NFL Combine, particuarly in the speed department, but a strong offseason should help his draft stick rise toward the middle rounds.
He would be just the latest Pitt defensive back to be drafted in recent seasons, joining the likes of Damar Hamlin, Dane Jackson, Damarri Mathis, K’Waun Williams, Brandon Hill, Erick Hallett, Jason Pinnock, Jordan Whitehead and Avonte Maddox.
The 2024 Shrine Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 1 at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
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