Noel Devine is a legend already, as much because of the mystery that surrounds him as the jaw-dropping talent he displays on the football field. The North Fort Myers High School star has done few interviews and is shielded from the press like a rock star from his groupies. He has been burned in the press far too often, and only a select few are allowed access these days. This past week, I was one of those select few allowed to enter the inner circle; it was surprising, enlightening and a bit saddening.
Noel Devine is 18. He is the father of two children, was the subject of a custody battle between Deion Sanders, who wanted to adopt him, and the Harlow family, where he had been living for the past few years. His grandmother is his legal guardian, but Devine spends most of his time living at his girlfriend's house. Both of Noel's parents passed away by the time he was 11, and his life has varied between that of a kid who never had a chance to be one and an adult who still longs for childhood innocence. Devine has been in the spotlight since he was a freshman in high school. Heck, he was being recruited by different Pop Warner teams before anyone outside of Lee County knew his name. Devine has lived under a large magnifying glass.
I spent some time with Devine and found him to be a quiet kid who tries -- but fails -- to be guarded because of his justified mistrust of the media. He's too affable, friendly and simply too nice to keep his guard up for too long. There have been a few reporters that he's given extensive access to only to read their articles with disappointment as they drudge up the past, criticize the decisions of a kid barely old enough to drive and continue to project him as trouble. One reporter named him to his annual "turkey list" as one of the 10 people in the area "who were inept, stupid, unpleasant or conniving in 2005" because of his off-field issues. Devine has never been arrested, doesn't do drugs or drink and takes care of his kids.
Devine says he shakes it off and uses it all as motivation, but you can tell it still stings. He admits he reads the stuff and was excited about the Fort Myers News-Press high school preview because his picture was on the cover. Devine wants to read good things about himself like everyone else -- it just doesn't happen that often. Despite that, again faced with a stranger coming to North Fort Myers to attempt to solve the mystery of Noel Devine, he again lets his guard down. The reporters are much less frequent and access is more limited, but Devine wants to trust people. He doesn't seem to want to hide.
Devine is willing to talk about his current relationship with Deion Sanders and says that Primetime has been good to him when it comes to advice on selecting a college. He doesn't want to talk about his family and will only talk about the shooting death of one of his best friends a few years ago to people from the community. But I wasn't looking to talk about any of that stuff, anyway. It's in the past. I wanted to see who the kid was behind the enigmatic legend. And I learned a lot.
I learned that Devine is trying harder to become a leader on and off the football field. I learned that he likes to impress people with his amazing ability to break runs that drop jaws and feels each run needs to be better than the last. I learned he has what can only be called an addiction to Skittles, so much so it has become his nickname and forced a recent trip to a dentist. And I learned that when Devine receives little compliments, like telling him he did well on a school assignment or that he was articulate and poised handling an intense video interview, he quietly beams. A lot more than if you were to tell him he's the best high school running back you've ever seen. Devine hears the latter so much he can't believe it's genuine, and he clearly doesn't hear the former enough, at least not from people outside of his small circle of trust.
I also learned that Devine can sometimes allow the heavy responsibilities in his life, responsibilities to his girlfriend, his daughters, his coaches and teammates and his fans, to weigh on him too heavily. I learned that his youthful, grinning face on the football field can be transformed into that of a man twice his age when things get to him. I learned that he sometimes feels there are more haters than there are supporters and that there are people out there who believe that it's a crime Devine is revered for his accomplishments on the football field in lieu of his off-the-field troubles. And I learned that everyone wants a piece of Noel Devine, from rich folks to middle class folks to drug pushers. Devine averages at least one piece of mail a day requesting an autograph from an adult obviously trying to pass themselves off as an 8-year-old kid. Sad but true.
Devine just wants to be a kid just like the other kids on his football team. He knows he has different responsibilities than most of the others, and he has no problem spending his time after school being a dad and getting to bed early. He knows his life so far has been a bit tougher than most, but he never complains about it. He simply wants the attention to be focused more on his team and less on him. However, that's not going to happen, and he pretty much knows it.
So the kid with the Reggie Bush feet and Ladanian Tomlinson strength all wrapped up in a heavily muscled 5-8, 165-pound body continues on. He's working hard to get himself academically eligible before even thinking about what college he'll pick (Florida State, Nebraska, Southern Cal, Pitt, Miami and others are in the mix), and he's having fun when folks aren't bothering him. When he does get down, he's quickly brought out of it by a teammate's goofball act or a joke by his head coach James Iandoli. When he's not carrying a football, you'd be hard pressed to pick Devine out among the rest of his teammates, and that's just fine with him.
I didn't solve the mystery of Noel Devine on my trip, but I have a lot more clues than I did before.
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