MORGANTOWN — The trend of sitting out bowl season has become the norm for many college football players with any NFL aspiration. Even a few WVU players — quarterback Will Grier in 2018, most notably — decided to sit out in the postseason.
Like most trends, though, it has become cyclical, and one of the biggest questions WVU coach Neal Brown was asked this off-season from pro scouts has to do with defensive lineman Darius Stills deciding to play his final college game in the Liberty Bowl against Army.
“That was really a positive in the eye of the NFL just because that shows a strong allegiance,” Brown said Thursday following WVU’s Pro Day. “From a teammate’s perspective, that’s something they respected.”
Stills followed an atypical path through his college career, from being an under-recruited prospect out of Fairmont Senior, to being one of the highest defensive tackle prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft class.
Playing in the NFL has always been a dream for Stills, hoping to follow in his father, Gary’s, footsteps, after he played in the NFL as a linebacker for 10 years, from 1999-2008.
But after an excellent junior season in 2019, Stills decided to return for his senior year in 2020, and despite the obstacles associated with COVID-19, he has no regrets about playing one more year with the Mountaineers.
“This extra year of college under my belt helped me a lot in terms of leadership and being the best ball player I can be so I can take that stuff into the NFL,” Stills said. “It definitely benefited me more than I ever thought it would.”
While his numbers were down as a senior, Stills worked through double teams and fit in better as a natural nose tackle, which didn’t go unnoticed by those who give postseason accolades. He was named a consensus All-American, WVU’s first since 2006.
Recently, the mold has broken for prototypical NFL defensive tackles. Smaller linemen like Aaron Donald, of the Los Angeles Rams, and Grady Jarret, of the Atlanta Falcons, have found a lot of success, even though they are 6-foot-1 and weigh less than 300 pounds.
After the bowl game, Stills weighed about 290 but dropped about 12 pounds while training in Florida. Stills said he’s talked to about 12 teams, with the Cincinnati Bengals checking in most often, and he’s been told to try and add that weight back.
Overall, Stills was pleased with his performance at Pro Day
“I’ve been preparing for this my whole life, really,” he said. “The day was here and it came really quick. I feel like I did really well, my numbers were great. A lot of scouts said my position work was great. Now, it’s just time to get ready for the draft.
The NFL draft is slated for April 29-May 1 in Cleveland.
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