Hardy, Devonshire selected late in the draft
Penn Hills’ product goes to Buffalo, while Las Vegas tabs Aliquippa star
It took until near the end of the day for a WPIAL or City League player to have his name called at the NFL draft Saturday. But a doubledip of selections helped ease the blow.
Former Penn Hills star Daequan Hardy (Penn State) was selected 219th overall by the Buffalo Bills, and shortly after that, former Aliquippa standout M.J. Devonshire (Pitt) was taken by the Las Vegas Raiders as the 229th overall pick.
Hardywas a special teams ace for the Nittany Lions, becoming the first Penn State player with two punts returned for touchdowns in a single game when he did it against Massachusetts on Oct. 14, 2023. Hardy averaged 14.6 yards per punt return.
He had four touchdowns, including a 100-yard interception return and 84-yard kickoff return, in the 2018 PIAA Class 5A Championship game to lead the Indians to their first state title since 1995.
He ended his senior season with a slew of awards, headlined by being named to the All-USA Pennsylvania Football Team first team by USA Today in 2018. He was also selected as the Pennsylvania Football Writers 5A State Player of the Year and was a 2018 Fab 22 honoree by the Post-Gazette.
After two seasons with Kentucky, Devonshire spent three seasons with Pitt. The cornerback from Aliquippa played in 38 games, missing just one and starting 18 games at cornerback the past two seasons.
He earned second-team All-ACC honors this past season after finishing tied for first in the ACC with 14 passes defended and in second place with 1.17 passes defended per game. Devonshire also caught four picks, which wassecond-best in the ACC.
Devonshire left the WPIAL as a highly decorated playerafter leading the Quips to a 14-1 record and the WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships as a senior. He had 27 catches for 571 yards (21.2 yards per carry) and scored 24 total touchdowns. He also added eight interceptions on defense, including three in the state title game. He was the Pennsylvania Football Writers Class 3A Player of the Year and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Co-Player ofthe Year in 2019.
PSU trio picked up
Penn State tight end Theo Johnson heard his name called Saturday when the New York Giants selected him 107th overall in the fourth round. Standing at 6foot-6 and 259 pounds, Johnson was highly recruited out of Holy Names High School in Windsor, Ontario. He started all 13 games for the Nittany Lions last season, tying for the team lead with seven receiving touchdowns.
In the fifth round, another Nittany Lion went off the board as center Hunter
Nourzad was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 159 overall.
Nourzad (6-foot-3, 317 pounds), who took a predraft visit with the Steelers, played his first three seasons in the Ivy League at Cornell before transferring to Penn State in 2022. He started 21 games over the past two seasons, including all 13 games at center last season.
Near the very end of the draft, Penn State cornerback Kalen King was selected 255th overall in the final round by the Green Bay Packers. King’s draft stock fell after his 2023 season performance didn’t match that of his 2022 campaign, during which he recorded 15 pass breakups and three interceptions.
Means goes in fifth round
Bub Means became the first Pitt wide receiver to be drafted in eight years when he heard his name on Saturday. Means went to the New Orleans Saints as the 170th overall pick in the fifth round. He spent the past two seasons at Pitt, catching 68 passes for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns.
His performance at the NFL combine stood out to scouts, as he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, the 10yard split in 1.55 seconds, a 39.5-inch vertical jump, and a 10-foot-2 broad jump. It helped boost his draft stock after lower in-season numbers due to Pitt’s quarterback struggles.
Means and Devonshire were the second and third Panthers players off the board after Matt Goncalves was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the draft.