Day after day, Bub Means, M.J. Devonshire and other Pitt defensive backs competed at practice.

But Devonshire knew long before Means’ first practice in 2022 that he was dealing with someone special. The New Orleans Saints knew it, too, and they drafted Means on Saturday in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. He was the 170th player and 24th wide receiver selected.

He is the first Pitt wide receiver drafted since Tyler Boyd went in the second round to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016.

“When Bub first walked in (after transferring from Louisiana Tech), I knew there was something about him,” Devonshire said at Pitt’s pro day. “He’s special. To be that big (6-foot-1 1/4, 227 pounds), moving that well, running those types of routes, you don’t see that often.

“Anybody who didn’t believe it, it’s definitely real. It’s not fake. It’s the real deal.”

Means was Pitt’s big-play pass catcher the past two seasons, totaling 68 receptions for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns. He led Pitt in receiving yards (721), yards per catch (17.6) and touchdown receptions (six) last season.

“That’s his forte,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper said, referring to Means’ per-catch average. “Still a little raw, but Bub Means has talent and wants to be good.”

ESPN’s Lou Riddick has watched Means in person during games and in practice at Pitt.

“Big, strong, physical, he is a third-level winner as far as his ability to beat you deep,” Riddick said. “When you get guys like this who are also guys who want to be good, want to be great and you get them in the fifth round like (Means) and (quarterback) Spencer Rattler, who have something to prove, you’re doing great work as a scouting department.”

During his two seasons at Pitt, he averaged 16.5 yards per catch, and that bumps up to 17.2 when you include his 2021 season at Louisiana Tech (22/430/2). During the 2023 season, he caught nine passes for 109 yards against Wake Forest, seven for 98 vs. Florida State and a 75-yard touchdown reception in the Virgina Tech game.

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At the NFL Combine, he recorded 19 bench-press reps that tied for second among wide receivers at the Combine with Virginia’s Malik Washington and Southeast Missouri State’s Ryan Flourney. His 39 1/2-inch vertical leap was seventh-best at the Combine.

Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.