MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia defensive line coach Jordan Lesley was straight forward on the current situation regarding his unit — Darius and Dante Stills cannot be the only reliable options.
“Those have got to be guys we depend on,” Lesley said. “We can’t go through the season saying that Darius and Dante are going to do everything, because they’re not. We’ve got to have guys continue to develop, continue to improve and continue to step up.”
The Stills brothers have received continuous accolades throughout the offseason and have gotten off to a pretty good start in 2020, though Darius believes he hasn’t yet lived up to the lofty expectations many have put on him through two games. The same can be said for Dante, according to Lesley, but much of that has to do with the attention opposing offenses are giving both. With high expectations comes more attention, and with more attention being out on Darius and Dante, the rest of the defensive line is looking for others to step up.
“The guys around them have to take that pressure off of them,” Lesley said. “Every time we come to the line, they’re going to know where 55 (Dante) and 56 (Darius) are, and that’s part of being a good player. They have to learn how to deal with it and the guys around them have to take that pressure off of them, which is what’s not happening right now.”
While Jeffery Pooler is locked in as the third starting defensive lineman at end, the depth behind the Stills is the main concern at the bulkier line positions — nose and defensive tackles. One of the biggest reasons for concern is youth and inexperience, relying on the likes of Quay Mays, Jalen Thornton and Akheem Mesidor, who are all in their first or second year with the program.
Sean Martin, a highly-touted defensive end from Bluefield, returned to practice Monday after being forced to miss time due to contact tracing with COVID-19.
“Every guy outside of the guys that played here last year are literally in catch-up mode trying to use fall camp as their spring, and now they’re in season — it takes some time,” Lesley said. “Take a guy like Quay. He would’ve normally gotten those 15 (spring) practices at game speed that’s different than junior college. He would’ve gotten all of those with a spring game. He would be further ahead, but he’s coming along and so is Jalen Thornton.”
Another key piece that has been visibly absent through the first two games is nose tackle Jordan Jefferson. As a true freshman in 2019, Jefferson played in 11 of 12 games and even started one. Lesley was quick to defend Jefferson as being a hard working and putting in the time needed, but he’s simply not where he needs to be right now to provide relief for Darius Stills at nose tackle.
Darius, however, praised the progress Jefferson is making heading into Saturday’s noon kickoff against Baylor at Milan Puskar Stadium.
“JJ has gotten really strong, he’s working his feet better and he’s honestly just taking a big step forward, so that’s good for all of us,” Darius said.
