MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ahead of his senior season at West Virginia, defensive lineman Dante Stills found himself in an unusual spot.
While preparing to play his first year with the Mountaineers without brother Darius as a teammate, the team’s coaching staff has tried to put one of its most experienced and productive players in positions he wasn’t all that familiar with — on and off the field.
“I’m really pushing Dante, but [defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley] and [defensive line coach Andrew Jackson] as well, trying to push him out of his comfort zone,” head coach Neal Brown said. “He went to [Big 12] media days and that was something that was a little different for him. He’s had some NIL [name, image and likeness] opportunities that have pushed him to grow. We’ve moved him around defensively. We’ve pushed him as far as challenging to lead and be consistent every single day.”
A freshman All-American in 2018, Stills has been a fixture on West Virginia’s defensive line since he stepped on campus. While he’s had plenty of encounters with the media thanks in large part to his play, Stills has no difficulty admitting it’s not his favorite part of major Division I football.
That was part of Brown’s thought process with Stills one of two players to represent WVU at the conference’s media days. Tailback Leddie Brown was the other.
“The biggest thing was it was a different event,” Stills said. “I stutter — all you guys know that. I really don’t like speaking in front of a large amount of people. It was a great challenge. I loved being down there and talking to everybody.”
Stills is also being asked to speak up more on the field and in team meetings. Prior to the addition of Tennessee graduate transfer Darel Middleton last month, Stills was West Virginia’s only senior on the defensive line.
“It’s a big growth for me having to speak a lot during practices and meetings, because usually I never really had to do that,” he said. “I would just sit back and watch and listen. I’m growing for sure.”
Stills had the spring to help him transition into providing more leadership, something he’s tried to continue with over the first two weeks of preseason camp.
“I definitely take it into my own hands and they do also. They want me to lead the defensive line, defense and team,” he said. “I’m taking that role head on.”
Stills, WVU’s lone selection on this year’s preseason All-Big 12 team, has 22 tackles for loss over the last two seasons and 28.5 for his career. His career sack mark is 12, though only two were recorded last season.
“Last year, I didn’t think I did as good of a job based off the stats,” Stills said. “I wanted more sacks, but my overall play and technique was better as a defensive lineman. I learned a lot more last year than I did before. It’ll all come together. I’m not really worried about stats. I just want to play my game and it’ll all come.”
While Stills is likely to maintain his role of a defensive tackle in 2021, he has also been asked to play nose guard and defensive end. That’s part of the coaching staff’s process of pushing him out of his comfort zone prior to his final season of college football.
“I played across the board my whole life,” Stills said. “High school, I played everywhere. It kind of gives me an edge. It all comes down to if someone goes down, everybody can rotate no matter what the call is or position. I’m just trying to be versatile and be able to play everywhere.”
There’s been yet another transition for Stills, who is playing for a new position coach in Jackson.
Jackson was hired to guide the West Virginia defensive line at the end of January, and the two have built a strong bond that has even allowed Jackson to learn from Stills.
“He’s in a great space,” Jackson said. “He’s matured a lot and worked on his body. He’s able to do a lot more in the defense. He can line up and play any position for us right now. He’s really thrust himself into being a leader and teaching the young guys. He spent a lot of time teaching me the defense as well, so I like where he’s at.”