MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – According to senior defensive lineman Dante Stills, football is a team game made up of individual matchups.
 
"One thing people don't get, when you're on that field you're alone," he says. "You've got to deal with you getting hit. You're out there with the team but you're one. You've got to produce. You've got to be in your own zone. You've got to do your job and play your game."
 
Stills has certainly done that in 2021. His six sacks and 11 ½ tackles for loss lead a WVU defense that has consistently ranked among the nation's upper third this season. He also collected his first interception of the season in yesterday's 24-3 loss to Oklahoma State – an athletic play when he correctly diagnosed a screen pass.
 
"A lot of people think you just have to have fun," Stills says. "Of course, you're having fun, but between those lines its mano e mano. If you get put on your back everybody is going to see it. If you make a good play everybody is going to see it."
 
Stills says he feels like one of the old guys on a team full you young players.
 
"Me and Taijh (Alston) are like the old guys. There's a bunch of young guys and we love 'em and they're all my little brothers," Dante says. "I want them all to do great and just be the best they can be. I crack jokes with them a lot and talk a lot of crap, but it's all love."
 
Stills is one of the more demonstrative West Virginia players when he's on the field. One of the gestures he's come up is rubbing his thumb and his fingers together after making a big play.
 
He's done that quite a bit this season.
 
"I'm thinking, 'How can I make the sideline hyped and the team excited and get our confidence rolling?' I don't know what made me think of this," he laughs. "Maybe it has to do with food – it's my dinner. It kind of just happened in the moment but I like to be emotional. I've been doing that since I was little, honestly. I'm not really thinking too much when I'm out there, I just kind of go with the flow."
 
With the sun now beginning to set on his collegiate career, the Fairmont native says he really hasn't had much time to contemplate on his four years spent at WVU.
 
"It's gone by too fast, really," he says. "Obviously, it didn't go as fast as I wanted because when you're young you want to be the older guy. When you're old you want to be the younger guy so I'm just taking it in day by day, going with the flow and just trying to do my job and do my best.
 
I'm enjoying it," he continues. "I have fun playing this sport. I love playing here. I'm from here and I'm happy to be here. It won't really hit me until senior day or later on, but I'm just trying to take it slow and enjoy it."
 
This week's Life as a Mountaineer was produced by Megan Crain and presented each week by Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration.