Hall of Fame Class of 2017: Mike DeVito

Mike DeVito: From Redshirt to Blue Chip

Orono, Maine -- In the fall of 2002, Mike DeVito was a redshirt at the University of Maine, a defensive lineman recruited as a walk-on who had been given token scholarship money to seal the deal.

In the fall of 2016, he was an undrafted veteran of nine seasons in the National Football League who had decided of his own volition that it was time to retire, having turned down the opportunity to sign another contract.

Those are not lines one normally sees on the resumé of a pro football player. How did this happen?

Very simply, Mike DeVito is the epitome of the under-the-radar overachievers who are the backbone of Maine's most successful teams. The attributes that caught the eye of the Black Bears' staff were the attributes that attracted the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs.

Jack Cosgrove, Maine's head coach when DeVito was recruited, says that DeVito "had motor from snap to whistle." He notes that assistant Jeff Cole, "a great evaluator" of talent, found that DeVito "came across with great energy and enthusiasm" while playing with Nauset Regional High School in Eastham, Mass.

Cosgrove would normally visit only the players to whom Maine would offer full scholarships, but he made an exception with DeVito "to see what he was like." What he found was a player who "was passionate about working out" and one who "had tremendous influence on other players."

Listen to the observations of Dan Quinn, now head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and DeVito's line coach during his rookie year with the Jets, and you'll hear pretty much an echo of Cosgrove's thoughts.

Quinn wrote in response to a query: "It was Mike's toughness and ability to finish while he played at Maine that showed on tape that he had the traits to play in the NFL. It was during his rookie camp with the Jets that he proved that he belonged in the NFL. From that training camp on, he played with the strength, toughness and finish of an outstanding D-lineman. What I found out later after his arrival at the Jets was that he was a great player but he was an even better teammate. He made the players around him better because of the support and love that he gave them."

After redshirting as a freshman, DeVito become a contributing player as a sophomore, was named Maine's outstanding defensive lineman in his second season, repeated that award and was a second-team Atlantic-10 honoree his third season, and was the Atlantic-10 first-team nose tackle his final season.

While he was not selected in the 2007 NFL draft, DeVito did receive a predraft call from Quinn expressing interest and signed with the Jets following the draft. Odds of making it under those circumstances are long. NFL teams typically sign close to two dozen nondrafted hopefuls after the draft and normally perhaps one will make the active roster.

"In college, everybody's for you, but you quickly find out that you're on your own," DeVito says of NFL camp. "The rookies bond, but the veterans realize you're going in to take their jobs."

And take a job he did. DeVito was that one of a couple dozen, making the Jets' opening day roster, where he stayed for six seasons. When his Jets contract was up, he signed for three more seasons with the Chiefs. Most often, undrafted players lucky enough to begin on the margin bounce back and forth from the active roster to the taxi squad. DeVito did not. He was never off the active roster, never released.

When he and his wife, Jessie, decided after the 2015 season that it was time to retire, the Chiefs had offered him another contract. However, he had suffered two concussions during the '15 and he had two sons, Rocco and Sal, going on 4 and 1, calling him home, which is now in Hampden. Besides having more time with his family, DeVito is busy taking courses toward a masters degree from Houston Baptist University and doing local radio and TV work.

The 30th annual UMaine Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will take place at the Black Bear Inn on Friday, Sept. 8. To reserve your spot at the banquet, please click HERE.

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