MORGANTOWN — WVU defensive tackle Dante Stills was one of the most heralded in-state recruits to sign with the Mountaineers when he inked his signature in December 2017.
His skill set was never questioned in his first three years, but playing alongside his brother Darius, who was named an All-American in 2020, as well as freshman All-American Akheem Mesidor, Dante was overshadowed over and over again.
It wasn’t just his teammates who kept Stills from being what many thought he’d be when he committed to WVU while at Fairmont Senior, it was Stills himself, according to his coaches.
Stills has had moments throughout his career of being an all-conference defender, but head coach Neal Brown said Stills is playing the best football of his career over the last month.
Over the last four games, Stills has 14 tackles, helping bring his season total to 10 1/2 for loss and six sacks. He may have had the defensive play of the game last weekend against Iowa State, sacking ISU QB Brock Purdy on the final drive to put the Cyclones in a 3rd and long.
Defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley said in the past, effort was an issue for Stills, but once he figured that out it’s been a steady rise with the little things.
“I think it goes back to him not expecting to make every play with the level of D-line play that he’s playing,” Lesley said. “Dante has played his best ball over the last month.”
As a young player, trying to do too much rather than playing his assignment is something Stills struggled with. Getting the sack and tackle of loss was all that was on his mind — but now, he’s understanding what it takes to play team defense.
Taking up blockers and playing his assignment by taking up the right gap to help the linebackers is something Stills has applied over the last few weeks.
“I just try to do my job. If I don’t make the play, then I just do my assignment,” he said. “I try to get to the ball as much as I can. I try to move the offensive line a little bit and take up as many blockers as I can. I’m down in the trenches, so whatever I gotta do to help the team out, I’m all for it.”
