WINK Digital Team
•9/14/2026
FORT MYERS (WINK) — Former North Fort Myers High School football standout Noel Devine has been arrested in West Virginia and charged with felony strangulation, according to court documents.
Devine, 38, is charged in Monongalia County, West Virginia with one count of strangling, suffocating or asphyxiating a person causing bodily injury or loss of consciousness, according to West Virginia court records. The Morgantown Police Department is listed as the agency in the case, and the alleged offense occurred Saturday, Sept. 12.
Devine entered a not guilty plea Sunday. His bond was set at $40,000. Court records show a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23 at 10 a.m.
The publicly available court record does not detail the circumstances surrounding the charge. It shows a felony complaint and jail commitment order were filed Sunday.
Devine is currently listed as an assistant running backs coach and offensive analyst at West Virginia University on the school's webpage, where he was also one of the Mountaineers' most accomplished running backs.
Devine has been placed on leave from the team, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday night, as reported by The Associated Press.
“Any future decision on his status will be determined after more information becomes available,” Rodriguez said.
Before becoming a college football standout, Devine starred at North Fort Myers High School. West Virginia's athletics department said he finished his prep career collecting both school and Lee County records with 6,846 rushing yards and 92 touchdowns. He rushed for 2,148 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior while helping North Fort Myers reach the third round of the state playoffs. He was also selected for the U.S. Army All-America game.
Devine played at West Virginia from 2007 through 2010, finishing with 4,315 career rushing yards, third in program history. He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Devine later returned to Southwest Florida, where he taught and coached football at North Fort Myers High School before joining Rodriguez's West Virginia staff in 2025.
