A day after West Virginia rolled UT-Martin 52-7 on Family Day in Morgantown, one of the most decorated players in program history was booked into jail.
Noel Devine, the Mountaineers' assistant running backs coach and offensive analyst, was arrested and booked into North Central Regional Jail at 12:45pm Sunday on one felony count of strangulation, according to the Magistrate Court of Monongalia County. Bond was set at $40,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for the morning of September 23rd.
No additional details of the case have been made public, and West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez recently shared the following brief statement on the matter:
Upon receiving information of the arrest, I have immediately and indefinitely put Noel Devine on leave from the Mountaineer football coaching staff. Any future decision on his status will be determined after more information becomes available.
- Rich Rodriguez
For anyone who followed West Virginia football over the last two decades, the name will almost certainly be familiar. Devine was a three-year starter from 2007 to 2010, one of the most heralded recruits of his class out of Florida, and he played his early ball under Rich Rodriguez. He finished as the program's career leader in all-purpose yards and ranks third all-time at West Virginia with 4,315 rushing yards to go with 29 rushing touchdowns. His junior year in 2009 was his best, 1,465 yards and 13 scores at better than 100 yards a game. He went undrafted in 2011 and spent three seasons in the CFL. In 2021, he was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
Devine joined the coaching staff in 2025, making his return to Morgantown for Rodriguez's second run with the Mountaineers. This is his second season on staff, working with a running backs room.
The specifics of what is alleged in the complaint are not yet available, Devine has not been convicted of anything, and the case is in its earliest stage. What we have right now is what the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilition records show: the charge, the $40,000 bond, and a hearing date less than two weeks out.
The timing is difficult for West Virginia. The Mountaineers just picked up a lopsided win and shift their attention to a top 25 Virginia squad, and now the staff is dealing with the arrest of an assistant who also happens to be one of the program's most prominent football alumni.
We will update this story as more information becomes available. Stay tuned to The Scoop.