You’re never too old to chase your dream — and 58-year-old freshman Tom Cillo is proof of that.Having graduated high school over four decades ago, the Williamsport, PA, native never made it to college. Cillo, 58, is living his college football dream decades after leaving high schoolInstagram / cillo.tomThat was, at least, until 2025.While most people are planning for their retirement at 58, Cillo decided to take a very different path.After working 33 years for the city of Williamsport’s streets and parks department, the father of three stepped away from the job to return to his alma mater.Cillo worked as Williamsport Area High School’s equipment manager for seven months — but soon started to plan for his own college football debut.Encouraged by a close friend, he applied to Lycoming College, and enrolled as a freshman majoring in criminal justice.He’s now earned a spot on the Warriors’ football roster too.Standing at 6ft, 227lbs, Cillo has always been athletic. He’s run half marathons, and also competed in bodybuilding, power lifting, and strongman competitions.Now, at the age of 58, he’s finally living his dream, as a Division III defensive lineman.How did 58-year-old Cillo earn a spot on college football roster?“My standard kind of joke is that, if he looked like the 58-year-old version of me, I would never let him play,” Lycoming College football coach Michael Clark told the Philadelphia Inquirer.“But he’s legitimately strong and he’s taking really good care of his body.Cillo features on the Warriors’ roster and is listed at 6ft, 227lbsLycoming AthleticsHe has been documenting his journey from equipment manager to linemanInstagram / cillo.tom“That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for him, but his desire to do it was really strong.”Cillo’s story is so unique, that campus canteen staff at Lycoming assumed he was a coach, rather than a player, when he first walked into the dining hall.“They would hold the chart out for me and I would say, ‘I’m a player.’ And one woman said, ‘Oh, come on, stop,’” Cillo, who is four years older than Coach Clark, told The Inquirer.“I think some people are still getting accustomed to the idea of this guy (playing football).”Why did Cillo chase his college dream at 58?As a teenager, Cillo’s football career was short-lived.He ended up quitting during his freshman year after he started using drugs and alcohol.View Tweet: https://t.co/R1dT3B8RQq“Honestly, I would have liked to have done this right out of high school, but the indiscretions of my youth prevented that,” Cillo, who joins college football in the lucrative NIL era, said of his past.Instead, he’s doing it more than 40 years on, and is decades older than anybody he’ll share the college field with.Still, thanks to his athletic background, Cillo can hold his own in the weight room.There were moments in camp, though, where he began to question if making the team was really worth it.NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?“We ran some plays and I probably had my ‘welcome to college football’ moment,” Cillo explained.“Two linemen double-teamed me. They probably go about 270lbs each, and I came to the sideline and I thought, ‘There’s two guys that each outweigh me by about 40 pounds apiece and they’re 40 years younger than me.’“I thought, ‘Boy, that wasn’t a fair fight.’ But that’s football.”Cillo’s ‘unbreakable’ mentality can be example to teammatesAt 58, it would be naive for Cillo to expect to rack up the kind of snap count that someone like Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter did last season.Cillo is in great shape and has taken part in strongman competitionsInstagram / cillo.tomHe can hang with teammates in the weight room, and has an ‘unbreakable’ mentalityInstagram / cillo.tomBut he’s still going to stick it out.“A friend of mine said, ‘Tom, you have to be unbreakable,’” Cillo explained.“And I kind of keep that word in the back of my mind, because there have been a couple moments in camp where self-doubt started to creep in and rear its ugly head and say, ‘Just let it go. Just don’t do this.’ But that’s not the way I’m wired.“I’m not naive enough to think I’m going to step on the field for 30, 40 plays or whatever. There might be times I don’t play at all.“But I do want to see the field.”Coach Clark, meanwhile, believes Cillo’s story is one that can inspire the team.“He wants to chase the dream. And even if he doesn’t play a significant number of (snaps) for us, I do think there’s awesome value in what he can help teach the guys on our team.”Stay up to date with the latest from US Sports across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.