Defensive Line
Starting interior: Dante Stills
Reserve interior: Darius Stills
West Virginia possesses an in-state familial duo with Dante and Darius Stills along the defensive front. Dante (6-foot-3, 292 pounds) was named a freshman All-American by ESPN.com and The Athletic for his efforts in 2018, while his brother Darius (6-foot-1, 290 pounds) is poised for a breakout junior campaign after appearing in 21 career games over his first two seasons.
Along with being impressed by his body transformation over the winter, Neal Brown believes Darius is going to fit what they do schematically really well.
Starting ends: Taijh Alston, Reese Donahue
Reserve ends: Jeffery Pooler Jr.
Since the Mountaineers failed to corral the top in-state recruits from the 2019 recruiting cycle, it’s impressive they’re capable of playing three West Virginians along the defensive front: Fairmont’s Stills bros and Milton’s Reese Donahue. With 25 starts in 37 career games, Donahue is a reliable option at defensive end. He’s shown he can be a starter, but might be asked to add depth to the interior defensive line.
If it turns out Donahue could be better utilized inside, that’d open up a spot for two of either Taijh Alston, Jeffery Pooler Jr., or Quondarius Qualls. Alston played junior college football last fall, Pooler Jr. added depth for the Mountaineers, and Qualls was listed as a linebacker but missed the year due to injury. Outside of Donahue, this is an inexperienced bunch who’ll need somebody to step up.