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College football 2018 preview: 15 freshmen poised to make instant impact

By Cody Williams

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - MAY 26: Trevor Lawrence of Clemson University poses for portraits at Steve Clarkson's 14th Annual Quarterback Retreat on May 26, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - MAY 26: Trevor Lawrence of Clemson University poses for portraits at Steve Clarkson's 14th Annual Quarterback Retreat on May 26, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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MORGANTOWN, WV – OCTOBER 28: A West Virginia Mountaineers helmet on the bench during the fourth quarter of the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 28, 2017, at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. Oklahoma State defeated West Virginia 50-39. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV – OCTOBER 28: A West Virginia Mountaineers helmet on the bench during the fourth quarter of the college football game between the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the West Virginia Mountaineers on October 28, 2017, at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. Oklahoma State defeated West Virginia 50-39. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

13. Dante Stills, EDGE, West Virginia

Looking at the West Virginia Mountaineers and their prospects for the 2018 college football season, there’s no doubt about the fact that the majority of their success is going to come from what their offense can produce.

From the history of head coach Dana Holgorsen to the prowess of the offense with quarterback Will Grier at the helm to what the majority of games that Big 12 teams are a part of, this all would make a great deal of sense. Questions, however, exist about the West Virginia defense coming into this year.

Before the Mountaineers have been able to take the field, they are a much shallower unit than they’d hoped to be. Not only did they lose some of their leaders on that side of the ball from last year as they graduated or headed into the NFL, but Holgorsen also lost a number of transfers this offseason that will force them to look for immediate replacements.

Luckily for the Mountaineers, the best recruit of their 2018 class is Dante Stills, and he’s a guy who can come in and help alleviate some of their current defensive woes.

Stills, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end from Fairmont, WV was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, but still, the seventh-highest rated strong-side defensive end in the country. He’s a player with the physical tools and frame to compete from the moment he arrives and that’s good because the Mountaineers certainly need that given their current state of affairs.