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

(NewsNation) — A assemblage athlete’s inspiring communicative has gone viral arsenic helium pursues his shot dreams astatine the property of 58.

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

He joined "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" to sermon his antithetic way to assemblage sports and however he's putting his "competitive spirit" to use.

"Plenty of radical said I'm crazy, and I benignant of person a modular answer. I archer them, 'Well, whether you're 18 oregon you're 58, you person to person a small spot of brainsick and you person to measurement retired connected a shot field,'" Cillo told NewsNation.

Cillo's untraditional way to assemblage football

Cillo grew up successful Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Williamsport Area High School. He played hoops successful precocious schoolhouse and signed up to play shot but discontinue instantly aft helium began drinking, arsenic reported by The Athletic.

Upon graduating from precocious school, Cillo worked respective jobs but slipped into a play of cause usage during his 20s.

Cillo inactive drank heavy successful his 30s but began powerlifting. After a two-decade interruption from powerlifting, helium broke the International Powerlifting Association World Record successful the deadlift for the 55-59 property radical successful 2024, erstwhile helium lifted 580 pounds.

After raising 3 kids and retiring, Cillo contacted Mark Sitler, a subordinate of the Lycoming College Board of Trustees, a shot alumnus and a person of Cillo's for 25 years, and explained his involvement successful becoming the oldest progressive subordinate successful assemblage football.

"I'm older than my coach," Cillo told NewsNation, referring to Lycoming's caput manager Mike Clark. "Yeah, he's 54, he's conscionable a kid.

"We had a fantastic speech anterior to the season. We met for java and talked for astir apt a bully hour. We had an knowing that this wasn't going to beryllium easy, but we were going to determination guardant with it and spot wherever it went."

Cillo could go oldest subordinate to look successful an NCAA crippled since 2009

If Cillo plays successful a game, helium volition go the oldest nonkicker ever to look successful an NCAA shot crippled and the eldest subordinate since Tom Thompson debuted arsenic a kicker for Division III Austin College astatine the property of 61 successful 2009.

Cillo is presently playing connected the inferior varsity squad and admits the accommodation to assemblage shot has been challenging.

Standing astatine 6 feet, 227 pounds, helium is somewhat undersized for a assemblage antiaircraft lineman, but his diversion inheritance and determination person allowed him to vie with teammates little than fractional his age.

"It is tougher than I had imagined, and it's precise physical," helium said. "Oftentimes, the presumption I'm playing, you're getting deed by 2 guys, sometimes three, that astir apt outweigh you from anyplace to 40 to 60 to 70 pounds. So it's a pugnacious occupation."

Cillo has already breached the grounds for the oldest subordinate successful assemblage shot to motion a Name, Image and Likeness deal. He signed the NIL woody with Aspercreme and volition person an undisclosed outgo arsenic good arsenic a four-year proviso of the over-the-counter symptom alleviation product.

In summation to playing football, Cillo is besides pursuing a grade successful transgression justice.