COLUMBUS – The Ohio State football program, its fans and former players are mourning the loss of Dimitrious Stanley, the leading receiver on the 1996 Rose Bowl champion team, who has died after a nearly four-year battle with prostate cancer, the OSU department of Athletics announced Thursday.
He was 48.
A member of the 1993 and 1996 Big Ten championship teams coached by John Cooper, Stanley played in 45 games and started all 12 games in 1996 when Ohio State was 11-1 and finished No. 2 in the nation following the Rose Bowl win over Arizona State.
Originally from Worthington, Stanley remained in central Ohio after playing professional football in the Canadian Football League and the Arena League.
He was a familiar face as a college football analyst on a local television station and was a candidate for Columbus City Council in 2015.
Dimitrious Stanley leaves behind a wife and young daughter.