Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man didn't know sophomore quarter- back Dylan Devezin's name on his first day of practice. That's because Devezin did not play college football six months ago. He was a one-year starting quarter- back at New Orleans St. Augustine with two Division III offers out of high school, but he accepted an academic scholarship at Notre Dame to, in his words, bet on his education. As recently as January, De- vezin's only focus was keeping his grades up at the Mendoza College of Business. Now, Devezin is Notre Dame's start- ing holder. There will be no "or" on the depth chart. He will travel to and play in every game this season as long as that remains the case. "For him to come in late, like he's go- ing to go out there and be on the field and be in a critical role when we play in Dublin, Ireland," Notre Dame quarter- backs coach Gino Guidugli said. "Like, that's awesome." Does Devezin ever take a step back and think about just how crazy that is? "I think about it every day when I step into the facility," Devezin said. "The last thing I want to be doing is sitting in those stands again." Devezin tried out for the team last fall, but the Irish didn't have a roster spot open. Still, he kept himself in shape. He went to the games as a fan and contin- ued to train as if he was playing. "The first semester was kind of rough," Devezin said. "I thought foot- ball was kind of over with and a thing of the past. I kept at it. … I kept the faith." After quarterback Ron Powlus III re- tired due to medical reasons in March, Notre Dame needed an arm. Devezin had kept in contact with director of player personnel Dave Peloquin and running backs coach Deland Mc- Cullough, who gave him a call. On Devezin's first day in the build- ing, Notre Dame had all its quarterbacks work on holding. Devezin, who held for three years in high school, knew it could be his only chance to get himself onto the field. He took it seriously. "It's just a guy coming in and un- derstanding there's an opportunity for me to have a role on this football team, and embracing that role," Guidugli said. "And Dylan comes in and he's learning the playbook, but he understands 'my way [to get] on the field right now is to be the holder.' And he's going to be the best holder that he can be for Notre Dame football." "Any way I can contribute, I feel like I can," Devezin said. Holding was not Devezin's goal when he joined the team, but he's committed himself to the idea since then. Training with graduate student long snapper Mi- chael Vinson and graduate kicker Spen- cer Shrader, Devezin held 90 times each session over the summer. Thirty on the left hash, 30 on the right hash and 30 in the middle. "It's the same thing as a quarterback — more so like a receiver, I'd say," De- vezin said. "Catching balls non-stop. Working with Milk [Vinson], our long snapper, and Spencer [Shrader] to make sure the operation is as good as they want it. Just working every day. Same thing. Muscle memory." So far, Devezin said, the operation is running smoothly. "We've been working on getting the operation time down," Devezin said. "I'm new to holding here and Spencer is new to the program. We're just getting reps at it." Devezin credited his high school, St. Augustine, with helping him arrive at Notre Dame. Many of his classmates got scholarships in some form, including his offensive tackles, Tyree Adams and Cam East. They play football at LSU and Ole Miss, respectively. Before that, NFL players Leonard Fournette, Tyrann Ma- thieu and Trai Turner made their way from St. Augustine to the college ranks. It's been an adjustment from just focusing on academics, which is hard enough at Notre Dame, to keeping his grades up while preparing to play on Saturdays. He's kept his grades up, he said, thanks to help from the student- athlete center on campus. Devezin was asked if he thought he would have to do that legitimately — prepare to actually play on Saturdays — this soon after joining the team. He didn't hesitate. "No, I did not," Devezin said. "I thought I'd be here every Saturday and I wouldn't have much of a role, but I'm blessed to have the role that I do." — Jack Soble Walk-On Dylan Devezin Takes Hold Of New Role Devezin was a one-year starting quarterback at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans with two Division III offers for college, but opted to attend Notre Dame on an academic scholarship. He joined the team as a walk-on in January and won the holder job. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER