55-year-old player trying to make college football history

Linebacker Joe Thomas Jr. reached his dream of playing in the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers. Now his father is looking to reach his own dream - at the college level.

Joe Thomas Sr. is a senior running back at South Carolina State, where he joined his son Thomas Jr. for the 2013 and 2014 seasons on the football team, though they never practiced together due to injuries.

While the younger Thomas had potential at the professional level, his father was looking for a way to earn a stable income with a university degree while playing a game he and his son shared.

Now four years into his college career, and two after his son left for the NFL, the 55-year-old Thomas is in search of his first live game action - which would make him the oldest man to ever play Division I football.

In the meantime, he's been relegated to scout team duty.

"I believe that if the coaches looked past my age and just let me play football," Thomas Sr. said to David Gardner of Campus Rush, "I'd steal someone's position.

He added, "How am I supposed to prove myself, if I don't get a real chance?"

The Bulldogs have just two games remaining on their schedule and Thomas Sr. is hoping for just one carry to make his dream come true.

"His evaluation of himself is different than our evaluation of him," Bulldogs head coach Oliver Pough said. "We tried to make him a running back. We tried to make him a linebacker. Nothing has stuck. All that being said, I know it would mean the world to him and it would be special to our fans. If we get a possibility to put him on the field, we will."