A 58-year-old man at Lycoming College is going viral for playing college football at his age.
Front Office Sports, Barstool Sports and other accounts with large followings posted about Thomas Cillo on X on Thursday.
Cillo, who is from Williamsport, Pa., is suiting up for the Warriors this season.
Lycoming College, a Division III school in Williamsport, competes in the Landmark Conference. The team is off to an 0-2 start on the year. Cillo has yet to appear in a game.
Cillo grew up playing sports and is athletic. He has completed half-marathons and competed in power lifting competitions, according to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
Now, he is trying his hand at college football, at the age where most people are starting to consider retirement.
“I thought, I’m going to give this a shot and I’m going to write the script,’“ Cillo told WNEP TV before the season. “I’m not going to let somebody talk me out of this or self-doubt pull me back.”
Cillo never attended college, and after raising a family decided he wanted to play college football.
He reached out to Lycoming College head football coach Mike Clark and is now getting that opportunity.
“I mean, it is a little bit crazy, but there’s instant credibility in his weight room habits, his discipline, all the little things that we struggled with maybe in the past, he can do, or he does,” Clark told WNEP TV. “And I thought that would be good for our team.”
Cillo is listed as a 6-foot-0, 227 pound defensive lineman on the team’s roster.
Even though Cillo is not necessarily showing up on the stat sheet, he has made an impact on the team, according to Clark.
“He has a role. How it continues to develop in terms of playing time will be based off of performance, but he’s a valuable member of our team,” Clark said.
Defensive back Mario Samony told WNEP TV that other players have noticed how hard Cillo works.
“In the weight room, he’s a beast. He can throw around some weight; he could deadlift,” Samony said. “I’ve seen a video of him pulling a fire truck. It just gets the energy going, makes people want to lift heavier. It just makes our team better.’
Cillo, who is majoring in Criminal Justice, was working as an equipment manager at his alma mater, Williamsport Area High School, before resigning from his position to pursue playing college football, per the Sun-Gazette.
Once joining the team, he made it his goal to come in and earn the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff.
Thus far, he has been able to do that.
“It was important to me to come in here and and earn the players’ respect. I don’t want it handed to me; I didn’t want it given to me,” Cillo said. “I wanted to come in and earn it. My goals are more directed toward the team. I want to have a successful season as a team.
“I am really excited. I still have that competitive spirit to me. Doesn’t matter what age I am, it still runs through my veins and I am looking forward to it.”