MORGANTOWN — Fall camp may be over for WVU after three hot August weeks, but the Mountaineers are now getting ready for Maryland, set to go head-to-head Sept. 4 at Maryland Stadium in College Park.
During the last three weeks, spring practice before that, the 2020 campaign before that, high school before that … you see where this is going … defensive tackle Dante Stills and center Zach Frazier battled it out during first-team reps between the Mountaineers’ offense and defense.
In fact, Stills and Frazier have had friendly competitions dating back to elementary school.
“We played on the same pee-wee football team, the Colts,” Frazier said. “We didn’t play on the same middle school team; I missed him by a year. Then, I played with him again in high school. He definitely made me a lot better starting at a young age. Physically, I wasn’t there at the time. He is two years older than me. He helped mold me, though, and helped make me better.”
Frazier and Stills did a lot of winning together at Fairmont Senior, even if it was just for two seasons (2016-17), reaching the Class AA state title game both years, but did not win either.
Frazier was the first true freshman to earn a start at WVU in over 40 years, and he became a permanent fixture in the starting lineup all season at either guard or center. Typically, it takes offensive lineman a year — a redshirt season — to physically catch up to the competition at the college level, but Frazier had the tools from the start.
That is something he’s always had, Stills recalled from his junior year of high school, when Frazier came in as a freshman.
“I was a junior in high school when he was a freshman, and he was as strong as me and (Stills’ older brother) Darius and all the older guys,” Still said. “We were like, ‘This dude is not human.’ He was a big guy and he was abnormally strong, even when he was young.”
Offensive line coach Matt Moore said Frazier’s on-field leadership is catching up with his physical attributes, believing he is more comfortable than he was a year ago and understands his call-outs as the center.
Stills, who faces Frazier every day in practice, isn’t the least bit surprised.
“I feel like he’s going to be one of the best O-lineman in the conference, for sure,” Stills said.
Darius Stills waived by Raiders
Another Fairmont native and Dante’s big brother, Darius Stills, suffered a professional setback in the NFL this week.
After making his debut with the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend, Darius Stills was waived by the team Tuesday as part of the NFL’s rules to cut the roster size down to 80.
Stills, an All-American nose tackle for WVU last season, signed as an undrafted free agent in May but suffered an undisclosed, non-football injury in July. Now, he was placed on the waived/injured list, meaning any team can claim him through waivers.
If no team picks him up, the Raiders can reach an injury settlement with Stills or place him on injured reserve.
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