Rice transfer CB Tre’Shon Devones talks Notre Dame visit, commitment timeline

Tre’Shon Devones, then a cornerback at Rice, was preparing for the 2023 season when his cornerbacks coach, Jeremy Modkins, asked him what his goals were for the year.

“Dang, what are my goals?” Devones (pronounced Deh-VOENZ) thought. In each of the previous two seasons, his focus was coming back from the shoulder injury that kept him out for all of 2021 and the first half of 2022.

Ultimately, Devones told Blue & Gold, it came down to proving himself right. That’s what he did, breaking up 11 passes and intercepting 2 more on his way to a career year. It’s also what he’d hope to do if he transfers to Notre Dame, where he visited Thursday.

“I know the competition level that’s up here, but I can play here, too,” Devones said. “That’s gonna be my chip on my shoulder, and that’s how I’m gonna go into the grand scheme of things if Notre Dame’s the next step for me.”

Going to Notre Dame and joining a talented but top-heavy cornerback room wouldn’t be the easy route for Devones. However, he’s interested in joining a team that’s projected to make the College Football Playoff.

The Irish needed to sell him on where he fits into that room and that team, and they did.

“All you want is transparency and the blueprint of how they want to incorporate you and bring you in and what they see your role being,” Devones said. “Obviously, like I said, they’re gonna win games, but how are they fitting me into that success story of ultimately winning a championship?”

Devones met with assistant athletics director for player personnel Chad Bowden, head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator Al Golden and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, and the message he got was that he’d have a chance to start.

Even if he doesn’t, though, the Irish would use him in their defensive back-heavy packages. They explained to Devones that they often play a dime (six-DB) defense on passing downs, and that he’d be a part of that.

“They said, ‘You’re gonna be a guy that we give playing time,’” Devones said. “‘You don’t have to worry about that. You’re going to play.’ That was really the pitch that they made, and that’s kind of what stuck with me the whole trip.”

What also impressed Devones was how well Freeman, Golden and Mickens seemed to know his game and the game itself. They left no doubt that they did their research on him, with all pointing out specific things that they liked about him.

“Coach Freeman said that they brought the film into him and he was like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna bring this guy up,’” Devones said. “That just shows a lot. It was a real good visit, for sure.”

Freeman’s passion stood out to Devones, who came away believing that the third-year head coach is building something special at Notre Dame. Bowden, who has spearheaded Devones’ recruitment, struck him as “a real good dude, real genuine dude.” The Duncanville (Texas) High graduate said Mickens would be able to elevate his game and build a strong relationship with him as his position coach.

Devones was blown away by Golden’s system and his ability to teach it in the short meeting he had with the veteran coordinator.

“Shoot, I was in there for like three minutes and he taught me a lot of stuff that I didn’t even know,” Devones said. “To run an NFL-style defense in college ball, coming with all those different fronts, it’s a hard task, for sure, especially teaching it at the college level. But the way he has made it simple and actually implemented it into their scheme, it just shows how great of a football junkie he is.”

Devones is in no rush to commit. He’s taking a visit to UTEP on Friday, and On3’s Pete Nakos reported that he’ll visit Houston and Tulane as well. Devones said schools from the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference have reached out as well.

The first date that he had in mind when the process started was May 1, but he’s playing it by ear in the event that he needs more time or something tips the scales before then.

“I’m a prayer-first guy, and I was just like, ‘I’m putting a date out there and kind of putting God on a timeline,’” Devones said. “I just prayed to Him like, ‘Man, whenever you show me the right way you want me, I’ll make that move with no hesitation.”

Devones explained that he doesn’t want to make an impulse decision off a visit, even though Notre Dame made a strong impression on him. He also said that the Irish respect his timeline and will continue actively recruiting him throughout the spring.

“There’s no pressure there,” Devones said. “They already were adamant on why they brought me up there. … That’s the main thing that I cherish with our relationship that we created.”

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