The Pitt football coaching staff wanted to instill what it meant to play in the Backyard Brawl to their players throughout the week leading up to Thursday night’s game against West Virginia. Former Pitt greats like LeSean McCoy and Hugh Green addressed the team in recent days, along with former head coach Dave Wannstedt.

One part of Wannstedt’s speech in particular resonated with Pitt cornerback MJ Devonshire.

“Somebody is always going to be legendary and it could be you,” Devonshire recounted of the former Pitt coach's message. “When he said that on Thursday I was like, why not me?”

In the end, it was Devonshire.

The Pitt junior cornerback got to play the role of hero in Pitt's thrilling 38-31 win over West Virginia. Devonshire returned an interception 56 yards to break a tie game in the fourth quarter. The electrifying play sent the Acrisure Stadium crowd into a frenzy as 17th-ranked Pitt held off West Virginia’s last-ditch efforts to preserve the win and move to 1-0 on the season.

“That guy was running,” Pat Narduzzi said of Devonshire’s game-changing play. “He was fast. That was one of the nicer ones I've seen, and that was a big-time play. He wasn't going to be denied.”

Devonshire dreamed of moments like as a kid. Growing up in nearby Aliquippa, he had seen players from his hometown make plays in the Backyard Brawl. One of the most well known plays in both Pitt and Backyard Brawl history came in 2006, when Darrelle Revis had a legendary 73-yard punt return against the Mountaineers.

Devonshire said he watched that play a couple of times earlier this week. He said envisioned running up the sideline, making that same spin move Revis made, and ultimately finding the end zone.

Devonshire made that dream a reality on a big stage Thursday night in front of 70,622 fans. He originally began his collegiate career at Kentucky, but transferred back to Pitt ahead of last season to have the opportunity to play for his hometown school.

“This is why I came back to Pitt, to do things in this type of game,” he explained. "This is the greatest rivalry in college football and I just did something crazy.”

Devonshire has shown a knack for making big plays like this. He helped secure Pitt’s win over North Carolina last season with a game-ending interception in overtime. Coincidentally enough, that play was also made in a Thursday night primetime game.

“Man, it’s something about Thursday night games for me,” Devonshire said with a grin following the game.

The pick-six in the West Virginia game did not end the game like last year’s play against the Tar Heels, but something about making a play in the Backyard Brawl stood out to the junior cornerback.

“It was amazing; that definitely topped that one,” Devonshire replied when asked to compare the two plays. “I actually didn’t really think my play last year was that crazy until people said it, but this one I knew as soon as I saw end zone I knew how crazy this play was and I couldn’t fumble it before I crossed the goal line.”

The play sent the Pitt faithful into pandemonium, but also his teammates on the sideline as well.

“I was pretty excited; everyone on the sideline was losing their minds,” Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis said. “Shoot, everyone was really excited. I kind of tried to do my best to remind the guys the game’s not over, we still need another stop. I kind of lost my mind for a second, then I was like, ‘alright guys we need a stop.’”

Rodney Hammond proved to be another hero in the game on Thursday, but a late injury sidelined the sophomore tailback for the remainder of the game. He was bummed about that, but Devonshire’s play quickly elevated his mood.

“I ain’t going to lie, when MJ caught that interception it made me real, real happy because I was kind of down because I wanted to finish the game,” he explained. “But when he caught the interception I was happy.”

Pitt defensive end John Morgan was on the sideline and described the moment as a ‘blur’ but noticed Devonshire starting to pick up speed as the play went on.

“MJ is a 100-meter track star, so once he caught it ands started rolling I expected him to score a touchdown,” Morgan said.

There has always been a hero or two in every Backyard Brawl, and Devonshire got to take on that role in this chapter. This rivalry has produced heroic efforts, jaw-dropping plays, and epic upsets prior to the 2022 edition, and there will historic moments in the years to follow, but Devonshire etched his name into the fabric of the Backyard Brawl on Thursday.

“It was like slow motion,” Devonshire said as he broke down the play. “It fell into my hands, I made him miss, and the rest was history.”