Stills stays home, commits to WVU
West Virginia landed the top prospect in the state and arguably its top target in the recruiting class when Fairmont (W.Va.) Fairmont Senior defensive end Dante Stills committed to the Mountaineers.
Stills, 6-foot-4, 265-pounds, received his first offer from West Virginia after earning MVP at a summer camp prior to his sophomore season and has remained at the top of the board since then.
A priority from the start, Stills was the top target for the program along the defensive line and fills a need with his combination of size, speed and strength.
The son of former Mountaineers pass-rushing great Gary and brother of current defensive lineman Darius, the younger Stills had obvious strong ties to the West Virginia football program.
Growing up 15-minutes from Morgantown, Stills has made countless visits to campus including during spring practice, for games, summer camps and of course during the Showtime Event. The coaches repaid the favor visiting Stills as much as possible during the evaluation periods.
“It’s close to home and I’ve been around it all my life,” Stills said.
But ultimately the decision was Stills to make and he did so in front of family and friends at an announcement at his high school Thursday afternoon.
The Rivals.com four-star prospect collected well over 30 scholarship offers but narrowed his list to a top three of West Virginia, Florida and Oklahoma but ultimately the Mountaineers won his commitment.
That pledge came in large part due to his overall comfort level with the program as well as strong family ties to the Mountaineers and the area outside of the football team.
The home-grown product also held offers from Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Penn State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Louisville, Michigan State, Maryland and a number of other schools.
Defensive coordinator Tony Gibson served as the lead recruiter for Stills, while many other coaches played a role in his pursuit including defensive line coach Bruce Tall.
Stills competed in The Opening this past summer as well as the Rivals.com Five Star Challenge, impressing in both events with his quickness and strength on the defensive line.
Rivals.com Analyst Nick Krueger had this to say about Stills’ performance at the Challenge.
“Stills stole the show with his ability to smash down on the hands of offensive linemen before dipping and ripping his way to the bag in one-on-ones,” Krueger wrote of his performance. “Stills played as strong as he did quick, and he gave interior offensive linemen fits with his ability to catch an early step on them and power through off-balance attempts at last-ditch blocks.”
The highest rated commitment in the Mountaineers recruiting class, Stills is tabbed as the nation’s No. 148th best prospect and the 9th best defensive tackle nationally. It is the second consecutive year that West Virginia has secured the top prospect from its home-state after nabbing Derrek Pitts in 2017.
Overall, Stills becomes the 16th commitment for West Virginia in the 2018 recruiting cycle and will likely put a bow on recruiting along the defensive line after previously securing three other pledges there.
WVSports.com will have much more on Stills in the immediate future.
