WVU Football

WVU’s Dante Stills Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team

Published

3 years ago

July 7, 2021

April 24, 2021; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers defensive lineman Dante Stills (55) walks off the field after the Spring Game at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen

West Virginia defensive lineman Dante Stills is collecting more preseason honors this week, being named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team Wednesday.

🏈 The 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣ #Big12FB Preseason All-Big 12 Defensive Team 🏈
Details ➡️ https://t.co/7fF0FYTtEL pic.twitter.com/xAtJk2rGft
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) July 7, 2021

In his third season as a full-time starter, Stills recorded a career-high 35 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss and two sacks in 10 games in 2020. He was named a Big 12 honorable mention following the season. A senior, Stills will be WVU’s most experienced defensive lineman in 2021.

Stills received a second honor Wednesday, being listed on ProFootballFocus’ list of the 50 best players in college football entering 2021.

PFF ranked Stills at No. 35, writing:

“Stills emerged as a mauler in the run game last year and was undoubtedly the best interior defensive lineman in the Big 12. His 90.2 run-defense grade ranked second to Alim McNeill (formerly of NC State, now with the Detroit Lions) for the best in the Power Five. He came away with 15 tackles for loss or no gain — four more than anyone else in the Power Five. And he was one of three interior defensive linemen to finish with top-10 marks in negatively and positively graded play rate against the run.”

PFF has heaped praise on Stills this offseason, naming him a Preseason All-American and one of the top returners in the country.

Former WVU defensive back Tykee Smith was ranked No. 8 on PFF’s list. The third-year safety transferred to Georgia earlier this offseason.