West Virginia Mountaineers assistant football coach Noel Devine strangled his girlfriend outside of a sports bar before later attempting to enter the hospital where she was being evaluated, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Mail.

As previously reported, Devine was booked at a Greenwood, West Virginia lockup on Sunday at 12:45pm and charged with one count of strangle, suffocate, or asphyxiate causing bodily injury or loss of consciousness. He has since been released on a $40,000 bond before Friday’s hearing in Morgantown.

Now 38, Devine was once among the top football recruits in the country while being mentored by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in the early 2000s. He would ultimately play at WVU from 2007 until 2010 before missing out on the NFL and embarking on a brief career in the Canadian Football League. In 2025, he returned to his alma mater to embark on a coaching career.

But WVU placed Devine on leave this week after his arrest for allegedly strangling a woman, as described in the newly released criminal complaint.

Approached by a woman identified in the complaint as ‘T.W.’, a Morgantown patrolman said he was informed she had been involved in a ‘domestic situation’ with Devine, with whom she’d been in a relationship for approximately one year.

T.W. claimed she was ignoring repeated calls and text messages from Devine, who had ‘her location via her cell phone,’ according to the complaint.

Noel Devine, 38, was booked on Sunday at 12:45pm according to online records

Devine is accused of attacking the woman in the parking lot of a Morgantown bar, Kegler’s

‘T.W. stated that Devine told her to come outside, and when she did not do so quick enough he then came inside of Keglers to get her,’ read the complaint. ‘Devine and T.W. walked outside, where T.W stated Devine pushed her up against his vehicle.’

Devine is then accused of strangling T.W. in the backseat of his vehicle.

‘T.W. stated that Devine then got on top of her and put his hands around her neck, while slapping her,’ the complaint continued. ‘This caused T.W. to have difficulty breathing due to the strangulation…’

Despite her attempts to flee, Devine forced her back into the vehicle, according to the complaint. It was only the arrival of her friends in the parking lot that allowed for T.W. to get away from Devine, officers claimed.

‘This is when L.T and other friends exited Kegler’s and heard T.W. screaming for Devine to let her go,’ the complaint continued. ‘When the friends approached the vehicle, T.W. was able to escape and leave with L.T.’

The officer did not observe any markings on the neck of T.W., but did say that is ‘not uncommon’ so soon after an alleged assault.

T.W. told the officer she had discomfort around her chin from the attack, according to the complaint.

Officers have reviewed security footage from the parking lot.

Forth Myers native Noel Devine enrolled at WVU as one of the top recruits in the country 

T.W. ultimately told officers that Devine has threatened to kill her, tried to choke her, has followed or spied on her, and has professed to being jealous in their relationship.

After initially refusing medical attention, T.W. ultimately went to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where Devine is said to have attempted to make contact with her before his arrest.

‘Devine was able to track her location to the hospital where staff then alerted us that he was attempting to enter the hospital,’ read the complaint. ‘Devine was found at the nearby gas station and placed under arrest for Strangulation from the original incident.’

Devine does not have an attorney listed on the court website and he has not returned The Daily Mail’s requests for comment.

A product of Florida’s North Fort Myers High School, which produced Sanders years earlier, Devine was described by ESPN as the ‘next’ big talent at running back as he was being mentored by the Hall of Famer.

In fact, Devine was nearly adopted by Sanders after losing both of his parents to AIDS – his father as an infant and his mother at 11 – and later watching a friend get murdered as a teenager.

Sanders reportedly had the permission of Devine’s grandmother to become his guardian, but another family member who objected to the arrangement phoned 911 to report the legendary NFL cornerback for kidnapping.

‘I am calling for the possible abduction/kidnapping of one Noel Devine,’ the person told the 911 operator, as reported by ESPN in 2010. ‘The person who is kidnapping – and this is not a joke – is Deion Sanders, the one and only, famous Deion Sanders.’

A young Devine is seen speaking with then-WVU quarterback Steve Slayton (right) in 2007

By 17, Devine was already the father of two children, and while Sanders never became the running back’s guardian, the legendary cornerback continued to mentor him.

‘He didn’t have any structure and he wasn’t used to it,’ Sanders told ESPN at the time.

Ultimately Devine’s raw skills were too much to ignore for Rodriguez, who was then in his first stint at WVU and about to take the Michigan Wolverines job.

But despite gaining 4,315 rushing yards over four seasons with the Mountaineers, Devine went unselected in the 2011 NFL Draft. And although he got invited to Philadelphia Eagles training camp, he would ultimately settle for a four-year career in the Canadian Football League.

Devine later returned to his alma mater in January of 2025 as the assistant running backs coach and offensive analyst.

The Mountaineers are currently 2-0 after easy wins over Coastal Carolina and Tennessee-Martin, but will face their first big test of the season on Saturday against No. 25 Virginia.