There are two versions of Johnny Devir.
One stands alone on a football field, steadying his mind before an overtime kick. The other drives straight through contact on a lacrosse field.
Next year at Georgetown, he won’t choose between them. He’ll live in both worlds, playing two Division I sports at a time when many athletes specialize early.
That decision wasn’t always the dream.
Last summer, the Don Bosco senior planned to give up football entirely, pour everything into lacrosse, and follow the blueprint his family had laid before him. Then close friend Dante DeLuca talked him into coming back, and a playoff run to MetLife Stadium reminded him how much he loved the game.
Now, Devir sees the opportunity ahead as something bigger than himself.
“Every day I wake up and I’m grateful for everything I was given and all of the things my parents sacrificed for me to succeed,” Devir said. “To come to this school, to pay whatever it is here. I don’t want to let them down. I’m trying to prove to them that what they’re doing is worth it for my future.”
How he got here
Devir is North Jersey’s top lacrosse recruit, a four‑star midfielder ranked No. 42 in the nation. To understand why he is wired this way, you have to understand the house he grew up in as the youngest of five.
His three sisters all won state titles for Ridgewood lacrosse. Kait won a national championship at Boston College, and Lindsey, now at Stanford, broke Ridgewood’s single‑season scoring record. His brother Connor played at Connecticut College.
Growing up in their shadow added to the pressure Johnny put on himself, but it also served as fuel. Lindsey wore No. 9, so he wears it too – partly an homage to his favorite player Paul Rabil.
“It just made me strive to be better,” Devir said. “I’m very competitive, so I want to always be better than my siblings. I’m always just trying to get higher ranked or more calls than them.”
Ask how he stacks up and Devir calls on a witness.
“My mom said I got more calls than Lindsey,” Devir said. “I don’t know, but that’s what my mom said.”
Forging his own path
Devir grew up playing soccer, following his mother, who played at the University of Vermont. But by seventh grade, he wanted something more physical and switched to football. He entered high school thinking he’d be a running back before realizing his future was in his right leg.
Last fall, Devir went 5 for 7 on field goals, made all 40 PATs and developed the range to hit from over 50 yards.
“I’ve never really seen anyone with the same drive,” said DeLuca, a state-finalist wrestler headed to Columbia. “We’re doing superlatives right now, like Most Athletic for our grade. He’s winning by a mile. Everything he does, he thrives in.”
FIELD GOAL GOOD
John Devir drills it from 24 yards,FINAL in OT
Bosco 17
Joes 14 pic.twitter.com/Arz8AGLmfv— Varsity Aces (@VarsityAces) October 11, 2025
On the lacrosse field, Devir plays like he’s 6‑foot-2, not 5‑11 and 170 pounds. This season, he has 27 goals and 13 assists for the Bergen County champions. He’s also a two-time captain for a team with 10 other Division I commits.
“He’s definitely the voice of the team,” Don Bosco coach Matt Lane said. “He makes sure everybody’s working hard in practice, making sure everybody’s doing the little things correctly. He’s been that way since he was a sophomore.”
Before he became a two‑sport commit, Devir was the kid with a camera following him around. A YouTube documentary Road to Division 1 Lacrosse– now with more than 84,000 views – captured the workouts, the nerves and the family dynamic.
And it captured the moment every young lacrosse recruit dreams about.
At midnight on Sept. 1, when college coaches could finally start messaging, Devir sat at the kitchen table with his parents as his phone lit up with out‑of‑state numbers. He originally committed to Yale lacrosse, but when Georgetown offered him the chance to play both sports, everything changed.
“The opportunity to play two sports at such a great academic school is very hard to turn down,” said Devir, who maintains a 4.0 GPA. “I loved the coaches there.”
Soon, he’ll head to Georgetown early to begin football training. He’ll be a special‑teams player, which helps with the workload. He’s still sorting out all the logistics, but doesn’t seem too concerned about how the seasons line up.
After chasing his siblings for years, he’s reaching for a new challenge.
“As someone who [made Division I], I don’t know how it’s possible,” Lane said. “But if there’s anybody that can do it, it’s him.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Johnny Devir of Don Bosco NJ to play 2 sports at Georgetown