November 27, 2009; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back Noel Devine (7) carries the ball for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Milan Puskar Stadium. West Virginia defeated Pittsburgh 19-16. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images James Lang-Imagn Images

How WVU Almost Lost Noel Devine at Signing Period Deadline in Total Last-Minute Chaos

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 11:54 AM ET

Noel Devine remains the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with West Virginia football, but it almost didn't happen.

No, it wasn't because Devine nearly ended up at another school. It was due to the events that led up to the signing period deadline that caused a massive panic, which had Rich Rodriguez on the verge of firing parts of his staff.

Rodriguez explained the entire story in-depth during an interview with 365 Sports at Big 12 media day.

“Everybody was recruiting Noel. He was a freak, but they weren’t sure he was going to qualify and pass the test. I thought he could. He had a tough upbringing, and Deion (Sanders) really helped him and was kind of a mentor, a little bit. They wasn’t sure he was going to pass the test. I was convinced because you sit down with the kid, and he was a sharp guy. He just had some tough luck, so we hung with him.

"He didn’t sign on signing day. It was a month later. It was the last day he could sign. It was March 31st, or the letter of intent was void. And so he finally says, ‘Okay, coach, I’m coming to West Virginia.’ Deion was going to try to send him to a prep school in Connecticut, and I said, ‘Noel, you know how cold it is in Connecticut in December? I don’t know if that’s going to be good for you.’ But anyway, he finally agrees to sign with us. It’s like 11 o’clock at night, the last night you could sign. Well, the letter of intent we had sent him had expired. I was about to fire the whole staff. I said, ‘Are you kidding me? We’re going to get the top running back in country and we gotta…’ So I said, “Is there a Kinko’s somewhere in Fort Myers by your neighborhood?’ He said, ‘There is.’ I said, ‘Go to Kinko’s right now.

"So he went to Kinko’s, we faxed him the thing, he signed it, faxed it at 11:45 p.m., got fifteen minutes to spare. Two weeks later, he passes the test, rushed for 4,000 yards or whatever in his career, and graduated in three and a half years.”

Devine complemented Steve Slaton during the special 2007 season, rushing for 627 yards and six touchdowns on 73 carries as a true freshman. The following two years, he racked up over 2,700 yards, becoming one of the top running backs in college football. He finished his career with 4,315 yards and 29 touchdowns, ranking third on the program's all-time rushing list behind only Avon Cobourne and Pat White.