The Big 12 Conference unveiled its Preseason All-Big 12 teams on Wednesday, and West Virginia has multiple representatives for the first time in four seasons.
Center Zach Frazier, kicker Casey Legg, defensive tackle Dante Stills and cornerback Charles Woods all earned spots on the preseason all-conference teams. This year’s list marks the first time that three West Virginia natives were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 teams.
Frazier, a former star at Fairmont Senior High, is poised for a strong season after an All-American sophomore campaign in 2021. He will play his second year as WVU’s center and earned preseason All-America honors from Walter Camp Football in June.
Legg, who hails from Charleston, West Virginia, earns his first preseason nod ahead of his redshirt junior season. He opened the season with 13 straight made field goals, two shy of WVU’s record, and finished sixth in the Big 12 in scoring at 7.7 points per game. His mark of 1.58 field goals per game led the league and was No. 18 in the country, earning him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors from PFF College and the coaches.
Stills is the only WVU player to repeat his appearance on the 2021 list. The former Fairmont Senior Polar Bear earned All-Big 12 First Team Honors after recording 15 tackles-for-loss in 2021, the third-best mark in WVU history. He currently sits third in program history in that category, as well as sixth in sacks with 19.
Woods had a breakout season in 2021 after transferring to WVU from Illinois State. He played in 11 games for the Mountaineers and earned an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention nod from PFF College, and was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week after recording an interception, a fumble recovery and five tackles against TCU on Oct. 25.
No Mountaineers were selected for any of the league’s preseason individual awards. Texas running back Bijan Robinson, who is the Big 12’s leading returning rusher, was selected Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year after topping the Big 12 with 11 sacks in 2021. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel of Oklahoma was tabbed Newcomer of the Year.
This year’s list is the first time since 2018 that West Virginia has had multiple selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 Teams. That year, four Mountaineers were selected as well.