Heading into the 2020 season, it seemed like the West Virginia defensive line consisted of the Stills brothers and a handful of unknowns. Yet, through three games so far this season, that’s seemingly far from the case.

The Stills brothers — Dante and Darius — are filling their roles as expected, ranking among the defensive unit’s top performers up front. Dante, a junior, leads all of the team’s defensive linemen in tackles with 10, while Darius, a senior, has been a key contributor to that as he has often drawn double teams from opposing offensive lines.

As is tradition with college football, the Stills era is nearing its end. Darius is expected to be chosen in the upcoming NFL Draft, and Dante may follow afterwards. However, the future of the West Virginia defensive line may not be much of a concern after the emergence of a handful of young Mountaineers during the early stages of this season.

In speaking with the media prior to the Baylor game, defensive line coach Jordan Lesley noted that Akheem Mesidor has “a chance to be a really good player.”

Mesidor, a freshman from Canada, enrolled at WVU with an ambiance of curiosity around him. He currently has nine tackles for the Mountaineers this season, including two sacks.

"Mesidor has probably played as much as any other freshman in our program," Head coach Neal Brown said on Tuesday. "He’s explosive, he loves football, he doesn’t like it, he loves football and loves to compete, loves to practice. He’s hungry to learn."

In his second season, Jalen Thornton has also proved to be a key depth piece and contributor for the Mountaineers. Through the season’s first three games, Thornton has four tackles. Additionally, Quay Mays has seen an early role after transferring from Northwest Mississippi Community College this offseason.

The development of the team’s youth has struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking root in March, West Virginia was suddenly without a spring game, spring practice and summer workouts.

Thus, the team is searching for ways to make up for lost time as quickly as possible.

“Those have got to be guys we depend on,” Lesley said. “We can’t go through the season saying that Darius and Dante are gonna do everything, because they’re not. We’ve got to have guys that continue to develop, continue to improve and continue to step up.”

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