By Shaniece Mason

 

Devin Shepherd became the third houseguest evicted from the Big Brother house on Thursday. He came in the house strong, playing a huge game fast. He started an eight person alliance,Bomb Squad, with hopes of making it safely to jury. Unfortunately, he just couldn't pull it off. Devin gave us so much entertainment and I had so many questions. Here's our conversation where we talked about his eviction, his alliance and that ex-military, Donny.

 

RW: Have you had a chance to speak with your daughter yet?

Devin: The countdown has begun! I get to see my little girl, she will be in my arms in 45 minutes.

 

RW: Beginning of this week, you see Derrick and Nicole win HOH. What were your initial feelings? Were you worried, scared or did you think that you could survive this week?

Devin: When I see Nicole and Derrick win their HOH comp, I'm hoping that Derrick is still going to look at me as another parent in the house. Nicole... I didn't really know where I stood with her so I knew it was going to be a toss up. At the end of day, I kind of knew from the week prior that I was either going to get put up or be backdoored.

 

RW: You seemed to be a different Devin this week in the house. Was that strategy,just to lay low?

Devin: 100% strategy. I wanted Caleb to kind of self-destruct by being a little arrogant or rubbing some people the wrong way. I couldn't really go up to anybody and try to campaign too hard because it would just been lip service. And I don't know what everybody would have truly believed. I just wanted to lay low and let Caleb blow up his game. But it didn't happen, the house stayed true to what it wanted and here I stand.

 

RW: You almost had it there in that POV competition. You know, Donny wins and the house just erupts in cheers. What was going through your mind in that moment?

Devin: [laughs] Oh my god. When I got the die on six,I was on the platform but I wasn't on far enough. I was literally hoping and praying that I could wedge it out. But as soon as Donny lands on six and I hear the cheers, I had mixed feelings. You know, I felt like I had let my daughter down. But being a great competitor I know when to tip my cap and that was when I got out of the die, congratulated Donny right away and just thought about the irony of it all. The guy that I wanted to be evicted so bad just took my game life from me.

 

RW: The vote was 11-0. Were you shocked that it was unanimous?

Devin: I wasn't shocked at all. The house since day one has, for whatever reason, kind of banded together in their voting game. You know, everyone is really afraid to be the one person to step out and make a game decision on their own. Everyone is keeping their cards held tight, which is not a bad move. I wasn't surprised at all.

 

I mean, with Paola she got two votes from Donny and Jocasta because they were promised to her. They wanted to make sure that they honored that and she deserved it. It was tough. It's always tough when it's unanimous for anyone to go home.

 

RW: Do you regret asking Paola to throw the Battle of the Block competition last week?

Devin: Not at all. My target, at that time, was Brittany and my mindset was fixed on her. I needed Paola to do me a favor. The only thing I do regret is I regret making that promise to Paola to use veto on her and I didn't. I feel like I let Paola down and at the same time, I was stuck with a moral conflict. I got to know Brittany and I wanted to make sure that she stayed in the game as a single mother of three. I didn't want her going home feeling like she didn't have a chance to compete and that it was all for nothing. So I had to make a choice to use POV on Brittany.

 

RW: Last week, Zach and Paola blew up at the POV ceremony. Zach went in pretty hard. Is there any hard feelings there?

Devin: No. You know what, I look at it completely from a game perspective. This is a game and there's a separation between being in the house, playing the game and real life. If it was real life, maybe I would have taken it a little personally. This game is all they have to fight for right then and there. I have a lot of admiration and respect for them. I wish they maybe would have gone about it in a different way. At the end of the day, I have no hard feelings towards them and they know that.

 

RW: From past seasons, you can see that sometimes making early alliances and big alliances, rarely ever pay off in the long run. What made you think that the Bomb Squad would work, especially after bringing in Christine and Amber?

Devin: [laughs] You know, the overall goal was strength in numbers. I didn't care how we had to do it, I just wanted us to get down safe to jury. I thought it could be a unanimous goal and everyone would think that it would make sense. I thought that it would bring everybody some comfort. In the end, the leader and creator of the Bomb Squad....myself was the one that got paranoid [laughs] and threw it all away. It's definitely hard to make an alliance with seven other people on day two when you really don't know each other.

 

RW: If you had to go in the house all over again, who would you make an alliance with? And that's if you were to make an alliance with anybody.

Devin: I would not make an alliance with anybody. You know, I've been saying it the past couple days but it's shame that it took me until day 28 to really get to know people in the house. I wish I would have held out until a month in the house. Then I would have probably tried to make an alliance with Derrick, Donny and potentially Frankie. I don't know but definitely Derrick and Donny. To me, those were two people I trusted the most in the house even if it was Derrick that was ultimately responsible for sending me home.

 

RW: You formed an alliance with Donny early on and then you push for him to get nominated. What made you think that Donny wasn't what he said he was?

Devin: [laughs] Oh my god! If Donny wasn't what he said he was...oh my god!![laughs] You know, I looked at us as a group. As soon as I took the stage, right before going in to the house, you hear Julie say 'twist after twist'. Immediately, the wheels started turning and we all look somewhat young like we are what we say we are. Then I look at Donny with this beard of grey and I don't know what's underneath it! I'm very concerned that this guy is ex-military or a Harvard professor. I didn't know what this guy was. Turns out...he was just a groundskeeper!

 

RW: Speaking of people not being who you think they are. Frankie is Ariana Grande's brother and Derrick is an undercover cop. What was your reaction to that information?

Devin: I wish you could have seen my face when I found that out. I have so much love and respect for everyone in the house especially Derrick and Frankie. Those are two of my favorite people. I have to tip my hat and applaud them because Derrick, man, I had no clue! He knows this game very well and he's doing well because he's able to seal his intentions. I love it! And Frankie... I'm a huge fan of his sister.[laughs] I would be lying if I said I do not have her music on my iPhone right now. I kind of feel honored that I was able to sleep in a bed with Frankie a couple nights. It's like I've touched Frankie so I've kind of hung out with his sister too. I think Frankie is an amazing person. I wouldn't be able to keep that a secret. [laughs] I'd be like ... by the way... [laughs].

 

RW: Would you have ever guessed that Frankie, Donny and Derrick(Team America) are working together?

Devin: No chance is this world! And that is why they're going to make it all the way down to the Final 3. Nobody will ever see that coming, especially the people in the house! It's amazing. They are making some of the greatest game moves in Big Brother, in my opinion. They should be applauded for that. No hard feelings._ [laughs]_ Again, I wish you could have seen my face! I just did not see that coming at all.

 

RW: Based off of what you've seen and what you already know, who do you think is going to be the next person evicted?

Devin: Um...wow. I think that if the house continues the pattern that they have right now, it'll be either Victoria or Caleb. I tried to give Caleb some advice before I left about toning down "Beast Mode Cowboy". I told him to just try conforming to the house. If he can, he'll be there and if he can't...everyone will be gunning for him. Victoria...I love that girl to death like a little sister. She's very interesting but at the same time you know, she can definitely rub some people the wrong way in the house. She could find herself on the block.

 

RW: You just mentioned Caleb, do you think that Amber is a huge weakness in Caleb's game right now?

Devin: By far. It's his biggest weakness. People underestimate how sensitive this kid is. He comes in strong and talks about his military background. He dominated that first competition like I've never seen before. He's got a sensitive spot and I really love that about him. But in this game love can definitely be your deterrent, showmances are horrible and focusing on one thing in another person can be a deterrent. This game is very mental and his mental psyche is not in this game, it's all on Amber.

 

RW: Who do you think has the best chance of winning the game right now? Why?

Devin: Oh man. You know, I'm stuck between three. But I really think that it could be Derrick that ends up pulling it off. I think Frankie or Donny in a close second or third. Christine could be pulling it up in the fourth spot. That's the feeling in my gut. I feel like it's their gameplay and knowledge of the game thus far.

 

RW: What's in the future for Devin Shepherd? And will we be seeing you on twitter?

Devin: [laughs] You know, I would really like to go back and finish up my college degree. All that I'm focusing on is Jayden Sofia and I just want to be the best father in the world, whatever that entails and however I can do that. I just want to be able to take care of my daughter.

 

I don't have a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram but I promise that by the end of this week I will have a Twitter set up and I'll find a way to make sure everyone knows what it is so I can communicate with everybody.

 

Photo courtesy of CBS