After working out with Antonio Brown, Marquis Williams hopes to join M.J. Devonshire in lifting Pitt secondary

Perhaps the names Marquis Williams and M.J. Devonshire aren’t tattooed onto the consciousness of most college football fans.

In case you’re wondering, they are Pitt cornerbacks who, by all accounts, have practiced well through the first 10 days of training camp. That’s only practice, however, and there are 15 of those sessions left before actions start to count.

Between them, they have only eight games of starting experience (all by Williams last season). In two seasons at the University of Kentucky, Devonshire collected just six tackles and two pass breakups.

Their dreams, however, have no limit.

Devonshire, an Aliquippa graduate who transferred to Pitt this year, wants to be a Hall of Famer and one day wear the coveted gold jacket, just like the one worn by another Aliquippa-bred cornerback, Ty Law, at his 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.

Williams spent some time leading into the 2020 season working out in Florida with Super Bowl champion wide receiver Antonio Brown of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“He’s a man. I’m a man,” Williams said of Brown. “It was good on good. I’d do it anytime.”

Perhaps the way Devonshire and Williams think can lift the Pitt secondary that lost three members to the NFL.

Williams, a junior, said working with Brown helped him earn a starting role after cornerback Damarri Mathis was lost for the season with an injury. He ended up with four pass breakups and two interceptions.

“He’s one of the reasons I had a good season (in 2020),” Williams said. “Everybody knows that lining up in front of Antonio Brown, you’re not going to see that in the ACC every day.

“He got me mentally and physically ready for last season, and I appreciate him so much for that.”

Williams is listed at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, and he uses his slight stature as motivation.

“I’m lion-hearted,” he said of his football demeanor. “I’m not the biggest on the field, but it comes from the heart. I pad up. They pad up.

“I’ve always been the smallest guy on the team since high school, Little League. I always had to just push through and never care about what anybody said or thought of me. I had to keep that heart right here (tapping his chest).”

When Williams was being recruited by Pitt, he spoke with former Panthers cornerback Avonte Maddox, now with the Philadelphia Eagles. Like Williams, Maddox is 5-foot-9 and didn’t let his height derail his dream.

“I was talking to him day-in and day-out,” Williams said. “I was watching his tape and asking him questions about what I can do when I get here.”

Williams said he is eager to match up this season against Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross, an All-ACC preseason pick who caught 112 passes for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2018 and ’19. He missed last season after having spinal surgery.

“I want Justyn Ross. He’s the No. 1 receiver in the ACC right now,” Williams said. “They have to come to Pittsburgh (on Oct. 23). We play man-to-man defense. So I’m ready to pad up and go against him and see what he can do. Coach (Pat Narduzzi) challenged the corners to man up, and that’s what we do.”

Devonshire, a sophomore, played safety in the spring, but he is at cornerback now.

“I definitely like corner better, just naturally because I was playing it for so long (since high school),” he said.

Ultimately, Devonshire said his goal is to be like former Aliquippa cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Law.

“They come in. They get a piece of paper and (are told), ‘That’s your assignment. Take (that wide receiver) out of the game.’

“My goal is to get a gold jacket like both of those guys. One is going to get it (Revis), and the other already has (Law). I definitely can’t wait to, hopefully, one day be the next great Aliquippa DB.”

Of course, his immediate goal is to wrestle playing time from Williams and Mathis.

“Getting better,” Devonshire said. “My first couple days, I struggled. Those guys (teammates), they push you to compete. They make plays, and you want to make plays.”

He said he is learning from Mathis, a senior who is healed from his season-ending injury of 2020.

“I watch Damarri like a hawk,” Devonshire said. “I try to mirror my game. I see a lot of my game in his game.”

Devonshire was one of the stars of Pitt’s scrimmage last Saturday, a fact noted by Narduzzi, Williams and quarterback Nick Patti, who praised his “catch-up speed.” Narduzzi labeled Devonshire’s performance as “outstanding.”

“He’s going to have a big season,” Williams said.