Eight Mountaineers Named to Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Teams

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia had eight players named to the Phill Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Teams revealed Wednesday.

Senior defensive tackle Dante Stills earned a spot on Steele's defensive first team. The Fairmont resident is coming off a 35-tackle, 10 ½-tackles-for-loss, 10-game season as a junior in 2020.

In 34 career games, Stills has generated 75 tackles, 28 ½ tackles for loss and 12 sacks and is expected to anchor West Virginia's 2021 defensive line. He had seven sacks in 12 games as a sophomore in 2019.

Returning 1,000-yard rusher Leddie Brown is one of three players listed on Steele's second team, joining junior wide receiver Winston Wright Jr. and emerging sophomore defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor.

Brown is one of the top returning ball carriers in the Big 12 who captured All-Big 12 First Team status in 2020 after rushing for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games. He ran for a career-best 195 yards in a home win over Kansas last season.

Wright, a Savannah, Georgia, resident, caught a team-best 47 passes for 553 yards and two touchdowns, including a season-best nine catches for 126 yards at Texas Tech.

Mesidor earned ESPN True Freshman All-America honors after producing 32 tackles, 6 ½ tackles for loss and five sacks in 2020. The Ottawa, Ontario, resident saw action in all 10 games last season.

Senior safety Alonzo Addae was named to the Phil Steele All-Big 12 Third Team, while offensive linemen Zach Frazier and Brandon Yates, and senior linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo earned fourth team mention.

Wright was also listed on Steele's All-Big 12 Fourth Team as a special teams performer.

This year's 350-page magazine was scheduled to ship yesterday and should hit newsstands in the coming days.

West Virginia opens the 2021 season in College Park, Maryland, against border rival Maryland on Saturday, Sept. 4. The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

The 2021 home opener will take place a week later on Saturday, Sept. 11, when the Mountaineers play host to LIU. Long-time rival Virginia Tech will make its first appearance in Morgantown since 2005 on Saturday, Sept. 18.

Season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com. Single-game and mini tickets are slated to go on sale to the general public following the July 4 holiday.

Schedule

Eight Mountaineers Named to Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Teams

Players Mentioned

Alonzo Addae

Leddie Brown

Josh Chandler-Semedo

Zach Frazier

Akheem Mesidor

Dante Stills

Brandon Yates

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