Complaining About BYU Football Players Being Old Depends on Your Perspective

If you follow college sports in Utah, you know the many complaints by coaches and fans over the years about the age of BYU athletes. A new movie about a man who returns to play 36 years after getting kicked off the team, puts things in perspective. 

Surprising Number of Older People Who Have Played College Ball 

“The Senior” is the story of Mike Flynt. He was kicked off his college football team for fighting back in 1971 and returned to play in 2007. He played linebacker and helped win an important rival game. However, at 59, he isn’t even the oldest to do it. 

There are two other men, Tom Thompson and Alan Moore that played college football at the age of 61. There are four more that played in their 40s and 50s. I don’t know if this is commendable or a little sad. 

BYU Doesn’t Make the List of Oldest College Football Players in 2025 

The top 7 oldest players in 2025 are led by Monte Harrison, a wide receiver out of Arkansas at the ripe age of 30. Followed by Billy Gowers, a punter for Hawaii who is 29. There’s four that are 25 and one that is 24. Not one of them plays for BYU. 

In fact, the only one to make the list in 2024 in Utah was Cam Rising who played quarterback for the University of Utah that year. Maybe it is time for opposing coaches to find something else to complain about when matching up with the cougars. 

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The new movie about a 59-year-old man returning to play football in Texas helps put the age of athletes in perspective. Many BYU players are older due to 2 years of missionary service, but compared to Flynt, they are still infants.