Raider Nation Origin Stories: Meet Tom Cillo, the 58-year-old 'freshman' Division III football player and lifelong Raiders fan

Nov 28, 2025 at 11:27 AM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

1984 was a significant year for Tom Cillo for two reasons.

First, it was the year he watched his favorite team, the Los Angeles Raiders, win their third Super Bowl crown with Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen and Cillo's favorite football player of all time, Howie Long. The Williamsport, Pennsylvania, native became hooked on the Silver and Black in the mid 1970s, being captivated by quarterback Ken Stabler – who, like Cillo, was left handed.

1984 is also the year Cillo graduated high school, and in a way, the cruel ending of a chapter in his life.

He tried out for his high school football team as an underclassman, but wasn't as committed to playing the game he loved watching on television. He quit the team after two days. Instead, he went down a "different path" consisting of substance abuse. While also being a talented basketball player in high school, drugs and alcohol slowly became the central focus of his life.

"It's just the reality of the way I went at that time," Cillo told Raiders.com. "I had wanted to play college football and basketball but clearly never followed through on it – until now."

Cillo ultimately overcame his battle with substance abuse. After being given an ultimatum by his wife to choose between his family and career or alcohol, he sought help.

He went on to work for the city of Williamsport for 33 years, then retired and, in full circle fashion, began a job as the head equipment manager at his former high school.

With the desire of going back to school to get his college degree, his lifelong dream of being a college athlete was still in his mind. It helped that Cillo had been powerlifting for years.

However, this idea of going back to school and playing football at 58 years old still seemed like, well, a pipe dream.

"There's obviously a physical risk at my age," he said. "There's an academic risk at my age. It's been over 41 years since I've been in a classroom. And there's a huge financial risk. I'm just not sure."

His physical trainer, who worked with Cillo in the weight room as he was trying to make a decision, had some words of advice that put everything into perspective.

"He said, 'Look, you can get hurt in the shower, you can get hurt on a set of steps. If you really want to do this, just do it. Go play.' He said, 'The only thing that has value in this life is time, and how are you going to use it?' After that phone call I'm like, 'OK, full steam ahead. I'm going for this.'"

Cillo enrolled at Lycoming College, a Division III program in Williamsport to finally bring his dream to reality.

And it's not coincidental he's playing on the defensive line – like his favorite Raider of all time.

"He influenced my style, but at this point I'm not capable of pulling it off," Cillo laughed. "I freakin' love Howie. I loved his game. He was so quick and he could turn speed to power and he was just so violent. He was the ultimate football player for me."

"I'm telling you though, it's tough in the trenches. I've joked that I'm the world's most overaged and undersized nose tackle the game of football as ever seen."

His self-proclaimed shortcomings on the field haven't stopped him from seeing playing time. He's made great progress throughout his "freshman" season, and has earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and coaches.

"You don't expect to get like an older brother going into your junior year," teammate Terrance Oliver previously said. "You think everybody coming in will be younger than you. But no, he's been really nice to everybody. He brings the energy that we needed."

In a couple of weeks, Cillo will travel to Philadelphia, 180 miles southeast of Williamsport, to see his favorite NFL team take on the Eagles after being gifted the tickets on The Today Show.

While he wasn't expecting so much national media attention to come from playing Division III football, he hopes his ongoing journey continues to encourage others.

"I just wanted a change in life and I thought, 'I'm going to go for it. I'm going to go live,'" he said. "Too many times in life I think people hold themselves back from doing things they really want to give a go at or have a dream or desire for.

"And I'm like, 'No. I'm going to go out and I'm going to live and I'm going to make a run at this.' And I never dreamed it would resonate with so many people."

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Las Vegas Raiders safety Tristin McCollum (27) during practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.