Preseason Accolades Continue To Come For WVU Defensive Lineman Dante Stills

West Virginia hasn’t generated a ton of preseason hype, predicted to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 this season, but senior defensive lineman Dante Still has.

Stills, one of the most experienced members of WVU’s 2021-22 team, has already been named the lone WVU preseason All-Big 12 member and been named a preseason All-American by Pro Football Focus (along with a Top 50 college football player honor).

Athlon Sports has now named Stills as a preseason fourth-team All-American and Sporting News has named him as one of the best college football players in the country for the upcoming season.

💪 @AthlonSports Preseason All-American@Dstills55 #TrustTheClimb pic.twitter.com/NjICwxb6BK

— WVU Football (@WVUfootball) July 16, 2021

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman was named a Big 12 honorable mention after a junior season that saw him rack up 35 tackles (15 solo), 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two passes defended, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick in 10 games. Sporting New expects Stills to be even better in 2021.

Naming Stills as the 34th-best player in college football for 2021, Sporting News’ Bill Bender wrote:

“Stills, a 280-pound interior lineman, averages four sacks per season with the Mountaineers. The senior continues to be a disruptive presence in the middle and appears ready for a full-fledged breakout in Morgantown.” 

With a preseason All-American accolade from PFF, Athlon named Stills to their fourth-team, joining fellow Big 12 defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey (Oklahoma) and Ochaun Mathis (TCU).

Stills is expected to be one of the best players in the Big 12 this season, helping lead a WVU defense that ranked as the best in the conference last season. After losing defensive backs Tykee Smith (to Georiga) and Dreshun Miller (to Auburn) to the transfer portal and Still’s older brother Darius to the NFL, Still will be the leading face of a reloaded defense.