Former Ohio State wide receiver Demetrius Stanley has died after a three-year battle with cancer, according to his family. He is 48 years old. Stanley was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2019, according to a GoFundMe set up by his former teammate Tyson Gentry. After a period of remission, the cancer comes back and spreads. Before joining Ohio State, Stanley played high school football at Thomas Worthington High School.
At running back, he was a Division I All-Ohio State first-team selection and rushed for 1,537 yards and 16 touchdowns during his senior year. Stanley played for the Buckeyes from 1993 to 1996. His best season came as a senior, when he led the team for 829 yards and eight touchdowns on 43 catches.
His best game of the season came against Wisconsin, where he caught 10 passes for 199 yards and scored a game-winning touchdown. He was a Big Ten All-Big Player of the Year that season and was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice. After his college career, Stanley played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League in 1998 and two seasons in the Arena Football League with the New Jersey Reddogs from 1999-2000. After his diagnosis, Stanley founded Brave Men Inc., a company that raises awareness about prostate cancer and raises funds for those battling the disease.
Dimitrious Stanley is best known for carrying Joe Germaine’s pass for 72 yards home to cap off the 1997 season and eventual victory over ASU in the Rose Bowl. Most recently, the former OSU recipient battled an even stronger foe: prostate cancer.
Stanley, 47, just completed his first treatment at James Cancer Hospital, a recently FDA-approved therapy. He will have five more treatments, but the former Buckeye Football Fever co-host is encouraged by the effectiveness of the first. “I was down in a dark place, but now I’m alive again,” Stanley told ABC-6 Sunday at a football camp at Ohio Dominican University.
Buckeyes quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful CJ Stroud met Stanley at camp. “This fraternity thing is real,” Stroud said. “No matter what era you play in, we should all show love.”
Stanley is full of energy, but of late his therapy has been successful. “It’s a miracle that I’m standing in front of you. I was depressed in the hospital and emergency room for six months. We tried multiple solutions, but this one worked.” Stanley was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2019.
He thanked Buckeye Nation for raising $120,000 in a Go Fund Me account to help offset his medical expenses. “No words. Buckeye country, I love you.”
