Oldest Freshman in College Football, 58, Makes Personal Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 1:13 PM ET

At 58 years old, Thomas Cillo is living out his dream of playing college football. Cillo, a freshman defensive lineman, is at Division III Lycoming College. Cillo has been a powerlifter for over 20 years and is hoping to become the oldest player to play in a college football game since 2009.

Cillo wanted to play college football when he graduated high school almost four decades ago, but that dream was pushed to the side due to his struggles with drug addiction.

Now, Cillo has become the oldest player in history to sign an NIL deal as he partnered with a pain relief company.

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On Friday, Aspercreme announced the partnership with Cillo that will pay him an undisclosed amount of money and will give him a four-year supply of the pain relief product, according to The Athletic.

"You lose something when you age," Cillo said in the announcement video. "The ability to give a damn what anyone else thinks. Aspercreme. Act your age."

Cillo, who stands at 6-foot and 227 pounds, is a world champion power lifter. He broke the International PowerLifting Association World Record for his age by deadlifting 580 pounds in 2024.

The Lycoming Warriors have not had a great start to the 2025 season. They are 0-4 thus far and have six games left to turn around their year. Cillo has not played in a game yet. If he does play a snap, he would become the oldest player in an NCAA game since Tom Thompson, 61, debuted as a kicker for Division III Austin.

While his dream lives on, Cillo will be able to alleviate pain from practicing for the foreseeable future.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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