How a position change turned FIU’s Stantley Thomas-Oliver into a Draft pick for Carolina
Stantley Thomas-Oliver III was just fooling around in a practice ahead of the 2017 Gasparilla Bowl when Butch Davis had an idea. Thomas-Oliver was a wide receiver at the time, but the freshman actually looked pretty good as he screwed around and got in some work as a cornerback.
The coach moved Thomas-Oliver from receiver to defensive back next year and the athlete blossomed. On Saturday, the decision made him an NFL Draft choice as the Carolina Panthers took the FIU Panthers cornerback with the seventh pick in the seventh round — No. 221 overall — of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Thomas-Oliver is the second FIU player taken in the Draft, joining quarterback James Morgan, who went to the New York Jets in the fourth round. It’s only the third time in history FIU has had multiple players picked in the same Draft.
Later Saturday, running back Anthony Jones, a Miami Central alumnus, signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent, less than two years after he was nearly killed in a 2018 drive-by shooting. Defensive tackle Teair Tart also signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans.
Thomas-Oliver had played cornerback just once before when Davis asked him to make the switch, but his physicality and ball skills made the transition smooth. In two seasons as a corner, the 6-foot, 192-pound athlete racked up 94 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, 20 passes defended and two forced fumbles.
“That was a great decision,” Thomas-Oliver said of the position change last year ahead of the 2020 Camellia Bowl. “I’m happy I was playing around when [Davis] saw me, and it grew to this.”
Thomas-Oliver was born Stantley Thomas, but changed his last name to Thomas-Oliver shortly after his 18th birthday to honor stepfather Frank Oliver Jr., who raised Thomas-Oliver since the cornerback was 8. He even added the “III” at the end because Oliver is a junior, even though it didn’t totally make sense.
He arrived in Miami as a wide receiver out of Punta Gorda Charlotte, although defensive coordinator Brent Guy always figured he could be a good fit on defense because of his length and speed. Davis tested out Thomas-Oliver at cornerback in the pre-Gasparilla Bowl practice and was sold.
After starting 12 games at receiver as a freshman, Thomas-Oliver’s role faded as a sophomore. He reemerged on defense as a junior, starting all 13 games at cornerback, and logging 40 tackles and 10 passes defended. As a senior, Thomas-Oliver notched 54 tackles and eight passes defended, including an interception in FIU’s stunning upset of the Miami Hurricanes.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 5:50 PM.
