Oldest players in college football: Where Arkansas' Monte Harrison, others rank for 2024 season

College football is an old man's game.

NFL Draft requirements mean that, more often than not, the best players in the NCAA are elder statesmen, especially when compared to standouts in other collegiate sports, such basketball and hockey.

Recent times have taken that trend to a new level, however. Whereas 22 and 23-year-old players were viewed as washed-up in years past, now they don't even register a flinch among the masses of college football fans. And how could they? When players in their early- to mid-30s are taking up roster spots, it's foolish to think that the sport isn't getting old and gray.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of older standouts have made their mark in the collegiate game, including, most recently, Joe Burrow, Stetson Bennett and Michael Penix Jr.

The 2024 season will feature its own crop of "senior" citizens making waves on NCAA's biggest stages.

Who is the oldest? The Sporting News gives you the rundown of the most experienced players who will take the field in 2024.

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Who are the oldest players in college football in 2024?

Virginia kicker Matt Ganyard is believed to be the oldest player in Division I this season, having walked on to the Cavaliers roster as a 34-year-old in 2023.

Prior to his time in Charlottesville, Ganyard spent 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a prep soccer star in his youth and flashed his slick footwork as a kickoff specialist, firing home 58 kickoff attempts in 2023. 20 of them settled beyond the end zone for touchbacks.

Ganyard is one of a handful of 30-somethings offering up their services for Division I programs this season. Here's a look at some of his other contemporaries, among them Arkansas' Monte Harrison, who played in MLB for the Marlins and Angels before turning to NCAA football.

*Age as of Aug. 27, 2024

Oldest college football players ever

The oldest player to ever lace up a pair of cleats for a college football game is Alan Moore, who, at the tender age of 61, made his debut for the NAIA's Faulkner University in 2011. A veteran of the Vietnam War and grandfather of five, Moore attempted an extra point for the Eagles. He did so while sporting a square-toe shoe and kicking the ball straight-on, unlike the more modern soccer style that has since revolutionized special teams.

"It's not about me, and it's not about being old. It's about the team," Moore said postgame, per ESPN (via Associated Press).

He's one of two 61-year-olds to try their luck in the collegiate game; so too did Austin College's Tom Thompson, who sank his PAT attempt during a game in 2009.

In terms of Division I talents, former South Carolina wideout Tim Frisby is the oldest man to ever participate in a game. The then 39-year-old walk-on — another army brat — got a chance to play under Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier in the mid-2000s.

McCormick is the longest-tenured player in Division I history, with 2024 representing the ninth collegiate campaign of his career.