Noel Devine returned to North Fort Myers over the weekend for Father’s Day as well as a second football camp he conducts for local youth.

“It just comes down to having a passion for it,” said Devine, the all-time leading rusher in Lee County high school history. “I know it means a lot to the kids. They motivate me to want it even more.”

By “it,” Devine means having a standout senior season before hearing his name called in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Patrick Ryan, a 2008 Gateway Charter Academy graduate and a college quarterback the past two seasons at West Virginia State, continues to root for his friend.

Ryan is transferring to Eastern Illinois this fall and will continue to play quarterback.

“I’m definitely proud of him,” Ryan said. “I think the they should give him the ball more. I think he could win the Heisman Trophy. I think he’s the best player in college football right now.”

Transition: I’m not sure anyone has won the perception-vs.-reality battle as emphatically as Devine. People expected one thing, he’s become another.

And where might this take Devine?

It’s always been my sense a large mass of people anticipated something from his career at WVU, something that contained mischief, academic struggles, personal battles, football shortcomings, early exit, etc.

Another, and I believe smaller, portion expected exceptional stats, personal triumph, character, graduation, etc.

He’s trended tremendously toward the latter and pulled a whole lot of people from the camp of the former. For that alone — for defying, if not ignoring, a perception he clearly recognized to do something and be someone much different — he’s become an all-timer at WVU.

Pat White was somewhat similar. No, no, he didn’t have the same set of conditions Devine has to his personal life, but people really doubted he’d be able to do what he ultimately did at WVU. Devine’s darned close to doing the same.

Look around this season. He’s perhaps one of the top 10 running backs in the country and quite likely five in “Holy crap” moments. Per Mr. Ryan’s suggestion, what if Devine wins the Heisman, or puts himself into serious candidacy? What if he has a remarkable season he’s been building toward — Heisman Trophy/candidacy or not — and sets some records, blows some minds, wins a lot of games and stays on the path he’s walked just about his entire time at WVU?

Where is he on the school’s all-timer list?