MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University senior defensive lineman
Darius Stills was named the Big 12 Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, the conference announced this afternoon.
The Fairmont, West Virginia, native was also a member of the 14-player preseason defensive team selected by media representatives who cover the league.
Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard was named preseason offensive player of the year and Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler was picked as the preseason newcomer of the year.
Stills becomes the third Mountaineer player to earn preseason player of the year accolades since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012. Quarterback Geno Smith was the league's preseason offensive player of the year in 2012 and quarterback Will Grier earned the same distinction in 2018.
Stills had a breakout season in 2019 when he recorded seven sacks, 14 ½ tackles for losses and 47 total tackles in earning All-Big 12 First Team honors.
The 6-foot-1, 282-pounder produced a career-high 10 tackles and three sacks in a 17-14 loss at 12
th-ranked Baylor last October.
He also broke up a pair of passes and forced a fumble during his outstanding junior season.
Stills was the only Mountaineer player selected for the preseason offensive and defensive teams.
Oklahoma and Texas led the way with five picks each, followed by Oklahoma State (four), Kansas State, Texas Tech and Iowa State (three each).
TCU and Kansas had two choices while West Virginia and Baylor had one each.
The conference announced yesterday that it is postponing its virtual media days until Monday, Aug. 3. The two-day virtual event was originally scheduled to take place next Monday and Tuesday.
"As everyone is aware, our head coaches and student-athletes have not been able to collectively engage in organized team functions since athletics activities were suspended in March," Big 12 Commission Bob Bowlsby said. "We felt it was prudent to give coaches a chance to re-acclimate with their teams prior to participating in our annual season preview event."
The conference will release its preseason media poll on Friday afternoon.
