Pitt sophomore cornerback MJ Devonshire had plenty to say about his game clinching interception following Pitt’s dramatic 30-23 overtime win over North Carolina on Thursday night. He just didn’t have much of a voice to vocalize his thoughts.

“I did a lot of screaming after that interception,” Devonshire told reporters with a raspy voice and a smile. “I was excited, my first one that actually counted, so I was kind of excited.”

Devonshire’s interception of UNC quarterback Sam Howell on 4th and 11 in overtime helped preserve a Pitt victory and kept the Panthers in first place of the ACC Coastal race. Pitt is 8-2 on the year and holds a 5-1 record in conference play with two games remaining.

The interception itself helped cement a solid performance at large by the Pitt defense. In a game that was expected to be all about offense, the Pitt defense made its presence known throughout the game. The Panthers recorded five sacks, and held North Carolina to 6-of-16 on third downs and 0-of-4 on fourth downs, and forced a turnover on the biggest play of the game.

The offense led by Heisman candidate Kenny Pickett has been the driving force behind Pitt’s success this season. On Thursday it was the defense that finally had top step up and win the game, while the offense struggled in the second half.

“There’s been times when the offense has had to go bail us out, so it was our turn to help them out,” Devonshire said after Pitt’s win. “When they were struggling we had to pick our game up and that’s what it’s about - being brothers and playing for your brother across from you.”

It has been a long road for Devonshire personally to get to that moment on Thursday night. As a four-star recruit in the class of 2019 the Aliquippa native chose Kentucky over Pitt. After two seasons of limited playing time in Lexington, he transferred back to his hometown program in the spring.

Devonshire made a name for himself in the offseason, but that hasn’t always translated to success on the field this season. He has been working behind Pitt’s starting cornerbacks Damarri Mathis and Marquis Williams, while battling AJ Woods for reps as the third cornerback all year long.

Woods was sidelined with an injury on Thursday, and the sophomore cornerback took advantage of the opportunity. In addition to the game-sealing pick, he also finished with three tackles.

“Everybody gets their opportunity,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said of Devonshire after the game. “When you get an opportunity you take advantage of it. That's great for his confidence, he's been playing well of late. He's been playing good all year.”

“Like my dad always tells me when your number gets called and make sure you go make a play, so tonight was finally my chance to make a play,” Devonshire said.

Making big plays on national TV and following in the footsteps of other Aliquippa greats like Ty Law and Darrelle Revis is something Devonshire always dreamed of, and Thursday he got to live out that fantasy.

“It was a great time; I enjoyed it playing on ESPN and these were times like I talked about, being from Aliquippa and get to play on ESPN and make a moment like that - it was a great time,” he said.

“With AJ Woods out….MJ took over as a third corner and got some quality reps today,” Narduzzi said. “I’m happy for him. And he's an Aliquippa boy. Good to see the Quips get it done today.”

In an equally raspy and shot voice, Pitt senior linebacker Phil Campbell described that final stand for the Panthers defense on Thursday.

“It was pretty crazy; it was in the rain, the crowd was screaming,” he recounted. "We couldn’t even hear some of our checks, so we were just screaming at each other and we were all on the same page. We got it done. Everybody did their jobs and it was memorable - I’ll remember that the rest of my life.”

Throughout Devonshire’s postgame interview, his phone continued to buzz with texts and calls. The Aliquippa native got his big moment and it’s one he’s been waiting on for a long time and he relished the moment.

“Confidence and patience,” he said on what kept him going this season.

That resolve resulted in a much-needed win for Pitt, and a play a long time in the making for Devonshire.