Former FIU players learn to adjust while chasing their dreams of playing professional football
If there’s one quality that ex-FIU football players share, it’s resilience.
Translation: These are guys who will change positions or leagues if that’s what it takes to continue playing football.
Here are five examples:
▪ Stantley Thomas-Oliver was a receiver for his first two years at FIU before coach Butch Davis and defensive backs coach Eric Thatcher switched him to cornerback.
“Very grateful,” Thomas-Oliver said. “That was the best decision I ever made in my life.”
After two standout seasons as an FIU cornerback — including two interceptions and 18 passes defended — Thomas-Oliver was drafted in the seventh round by the Carolina Panthers in 2020.
Thomas played 25 games for Carolina during his first three years there, mostly on special teams.
This past season, Thomas-Oliver played two games for the Detroit Lions. Detroit went 15-3, including playoffs, to set the 94-year franchise record for most wins.
Detroit used Thomas-Oliver as a gunner and as a jammer on punt returns defense/offense.
“You have to have willpower to play special teams in this league,” he said. “You have to want it — embrace your role. I know how powerful special teams can be. Coach Davis always made an emphasis on that [at FIU].”
Thomas-Oliver, 26, has signed a contract with Detroit for 2025, which means he will be in camp, fighting for a spot on coach Dan Campbell’s roster.
“I will run through a brick wall for him,” Thomas-Oliver said. “He’s a great coach.”
▪ Maurice “Hard Times” Alexander came to FIU as a quarterback. After two years, he switched to wide receiver, and that’s the position he has played ever since.
This past season, Alexander, 28, was on Detroit’s practice squad — at times with Thomas-Oliver.
Alexander, who went undrafted in 2020, signed with the Lions in 2022, playing four games that season. He played three games with the Lions this season, mostly on special teams.
For his NFL career, Alexander has 7 yards in receptions; 146 yards in kickoff returns and 42 yards on punt returns. He got 27 snaps in 2022 and 17 snaps in 2024.
Those are not overwhelming numbers, but Alexander is still in his prime, and he’s working to improve.
▪ Another resilient ex-FIU player is quarterback James Morgan, who was the New York Jets’ fourth-round pick in 2020.
But despite that relatively high ranking — the best ever for an FIU quarterback — Morgan never threw a pass in a regular-season NFL game.
After getting released by the Jets in 2021, Morgan spent time with four other NFL organizations: Panthers, Steelers, Colts and Cardinals. Morgan also played for the Pittsburgh Maulers in the United States Football League.
“A sense of it is frustrating,” Morgan said of not throwing an NFL pass. “You stay ready, but you don’t get a shot.
“I still believe I can do it, and I love the game.”
Last year, Morgan tried something completely different, signing with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He was on practice squad for four games, but he never played.
Still, he enjoyed the league.
“It was a cool year,” Morgan said. “It’s a different game [in the CFL]. There are 12 guys on each side. There are only three downs. It’s a bigger field. You have guys in motion vertically, and it’s all designed for offensive success.
“It’s a lot of fun as a quarterback, being able to spread out and throw to different spots on the field.
“And the organization was really cool. It was one of the tightest-knit teams I’ve ever been on. When I came to Miami, a majority of the people spoke Spanish. In Montreal, they speak French. It’s cool to be exposed to different cultures.”
Morgan, who turns 28 next month, said he is signed to play for Montreal again in 2025. When he’s done with football, he plans on becoming a lawyer.
In college, he enjoyed pre-law classes.
“I felt invigorated,” Morgan said of the classes. “That’s something, besides football, where I was excited.”
▪ Wide receiver Kris Mitchell made an adjustment of his own after his record-breaking 2023 FIU season.
Mitchell transferred to Notre Dame, and he helped the Fighting Irish post a 14-2 record. That’s the most wins in program history, which dates back to 1899.
Granted, there are more games these days, but the Irish still made it to the national championship game. Notre Dame’s loss to Ohio State on Monday denied the Irish what would have been its first national title since 1988.
Still, Mitchell played all 16 of Notre Dame’s games, catching 22 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
In 2023, Mitchell caught 64 passes for 1,118 yards and six touchdowns. Those were great numbers, but Mitchell wanted to test himself at a higher level.
▪ Alex McGough had a brilliant college career as a four-year starting quarterback for FIU. He passed for 9,091 yards and 65 TDs from 2014 to 2017.
In 2017, he led FIU to an 8-5 record, breaking a five-year streak of losing marks.
The next year, McGough was the Seattle Seahawks’ seventh-round pick.
In 2023, McGough — as a quarterback — was the MVP of the United States Football League.
After that season, McGough signed with the Green Bay Packers. However, in May of 2024, the Packers announced that McGough, now 29, was switching to wide receiver.
“The amount of athleticism that guy has is off the charts,” Morgan said of McGough. “When he won MVP in the USFL, he was running around, making guys look silly. It was insane.
“I totally think he can excel as a receiver.
“I have a lot of respect for a lot of the guys from FIU. There are going to be ups and downs, but [FIU players] stay after it, and that gives me a lot of motivation.”