Position Group Previews: Defensive Line

In a season full of instability for the 2021 West Virginia Mountaineers, one of the best units on the team was the defensive line. 

Despite losing Akheem Mesidor to the transfer portal, Coach Andrew Jackson’s bunch will likely not take a step back, as they added a talented transfer to go along with a still experienced and talented front. 

Having strong line play on both sides of the ball is vital in a conference like the Big 12, and the Mountaineers have just that heading into the 2022 season. Let’s take a look at the experienced and promising defensive line for WVU this season. 

The Starters 

Defensive Tackle: Dante Stills 

Despite being one of WVU’s top NFL products following the 2021 season, senior Dante Stills elected to come back to Morgantown for one more season. The Fairmont native has been a contributor since 2018 and was the team’s best lineman last season, racking up 36 total tackles with seven sacks and a forced fumble. Stills is big, quick, athletic, and has a high motor, and these skills earned him First Team All-Defensive honors in the Big 12 last season. If healthy, Stills could be a top defensive lineman in all of college football. 

Nose Guard: Jordan Jefferson 

Jefferson, who started playing for the Mountaineers at 17 years old, is now entering his junior season, and it could be a big one for the Navarre, Florida product. Jefferson is a strong presence standing at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds at the nose guard position. In 2021, Jefferson recorded 17 total tackles with 0.5 sacks. Look for Jefferson to continue to do the dirty work and make his presence felt against the Big 12 centers. 

Defensive End: Taijh Alston 

Alston, a sixth-year senior, is a true warrior. After sustaining a torn achillies while at East Carolina, Alston spent a season at a junior college before coming to Morgantown. In just his second game in the gold and blue, Alston suffered a gruesome knee injury that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the 2019 season and the majority of the 2020 season. Despite the adversity, Alston came back in 2021 even stronger. The Lumberton, North Carolina product racked up 36 tackles, five sacks, and a forced fumble in route to being named Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year. Alston will have one more chance to improve his numbers to propel himself to an NFL talent, and do not be surprised if he accomplishes that feat. 

Rotational Contributors 

In 2021, we saw a couple different players on the defensive line get playing time that should increase this fall. One of those players is Bluefield, West Virginia native Sean Martin. Martin stands at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, and made 16 tackles in 2021. Martin saw a career-high 25 snaps in WVU’s road win at TCU, so he has the endurance to be on the field for more than just a couple of plays. 

Son of WVU great John Thornton, Jalen Thornton will enter his redshirt sophomore season as the backup to Dante Stills at the tackle position. Thornton is 6-foot-2, 278 pounds, and has spent plenty of time on special teams for Neal Brown. At the tackle position, Thornton has recorded eight tackles since 2020 and will likely see more playing time away from special teams. 

Another defensive lineman that might get more minutes in 2022 is Taurus Simmons. Simmons saw action in all 12 of WVU’s games last season and has eight tackles and a sack during his two seasons in Morgantown. 

Transfers 

One of the big additions from the transfer portal on the defensive line is South Charleston native Zeiqui Lawton. As a three-star recruit, Lawton committed to play for Luke Fickel and Cincinnati out of high school but didn’t see much action for the talented Bearcats and ended up redshirting the 2021 season. Lawton is a 6-foot-1, 275-pound tackle that will see likely see playing time in his first season in Morgantown. 

Another big pickup from the portal is Georgia Tech transfer Mike Lockhart. Lockhart is a nose guard that stands at an intimidating 6-foot-4, 317 pounds. Lockhart registered 27 tackles and 0.5 sacks in his three years with the Yellow Jackets and will be a backup to Jordan Jefferson at the position. 

Rounding out the group of defensive linemen is Edward Vesterinen, Anthony Del Negro, Hammond Russell, Aric Burton, Asani Redwood, and Brayden Dudley. These players are all either freshman, redshirt freshman, or sophomores, so there will be plenty of time for these young players to grow by getting reps on special teams and backup minutes. 

Photo by Bryan Dougherty