‘I’m older than my coach’: 58-year-old set to play college football

(NewsNation) — A college athlete’s inspiring story has gone viral as he pursues his football dreams at the age of 58.

Tom Cillo is a freshman defensive lineman for the Division III Lycoming College Warriors.

He joined “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss his unusual path to college sports and how he’s putting his “competitive spirit” to use.

“Plenty of people said I’m crazy, and I kind of have a standard answer. I tell them, ‘Well, whether you’re 18 or you’re 58, you have to have a little bit of crazy and you have to step out on a football field,'” Cillo told NewsNation.

Cillo’s untraditional path to college football

Cillo grew up in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Williamsport Area High School. He played basketball in high school and signed up to play football but quit instantly after he began drinking, as reported by The Athletic.

Upon graduating from high school, Cillo worked several jobs but slipped into a period of drug use during his 20s.

Cillo still drank heavily in his 30s but began powerlifting. After a two-decade break from powerlifting, he broke the International Powerlifting Association World Record in the deadlift for the 55-59 age group in 2024, when he lifted 580 pounds.

After raising three kids and retiring, Cillo contacted Mark Sitler, a member of the Lycoming College Board of Trustees, a football alumnus and a friend of Cillo’s for 25 years, and explained his interest in becoming the oldest active player in college football.

“I’m older than my coach,” Cillo told NewsNation, referring to Lycoming’s head coach Mike Clark. “Yeah, he’s 54, he’s just a kid.

“We had a wonderful conversation prior to the season. We met for coffee and talked for probably a good hour. We had an understanding that this wasn’t going to be easy, but we were going to move forward with it and see where it went.”

Cillo could become oldest player to appear in an NCAA game since 2009

If Cillo plays in a game, he will become the oldest nonkicker ever to appear in an NCAA football game and the eldest player since Tom Thompson debuted as a kicker for Division III Austin College at the age of 61 in 2009.

Cillo is currently playing on the junior varsity team and admits the adjustment to college football has been challenging.

Standing at 6 feet, 227 pounds, he is slightly undersized for a college defensive lineman, but his athletic background and determination have allowed him to compete with teammates less than half his age.

“It is tougher than I had imagined, and it’s very physical,” he said. “Oftentimes, the position I’m playing, you’re getting hit by two guys, sometimes three, that probably outweigh you from anywhere to 40 to 60 to 70 pounds. So it’s a tough occupation.”

Cillo has already broken the record for the oldest player in college football to sign a Name, Image and Likeness deal. He signed the NIL deal with Aspercreme and will receive an undisclosed payment as well as a four-year supply of the over-the-counter pain relief product.

In addition to playing football, Cillo is also pursuing a degree in criminal justice.