Meet the 6 oldest players in college football 2026, from Monte Harrison to Billy Gowers
Meet the 6 oldest players in college football 2026, from Monte Harrison to Billy Gowers originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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College football isn’t exactly the “young man’s game” it once was.
Most college football players nowadays are between ages 19 and 23, the typical timeline for a player to leave high school, then play four years for a collegiate squad. But between eligibility lawsuits, rule changes, redshirts and graduate students, there are significant exceptions to the general age group.
Across the 138 FBS rosters for the 2026 season, there are a few players over the age of 26 — and even two players at 30 or older.
Here’s a look at the oldest rostered college football players across FBS teams in 2026.
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Who are the oldest college football players in 2026?
PlayerPositionTeamAgeMonte HarrisonWRArkansas31Billy GowersPIndiana30Daniel HughesPFlorida State28Bailey EttridgePOregon28Wilson BerryPKentucky28Jackson RossPTennessee27
Monte Harrison, WR, Arkansas Razorbacks
In 2024, Harrison made headlines when he transitioned from a former professional baseball career into college football. A two-sport athlete in high school, Harrison initially committed to Nebraska to play football — but because he never enrolled, instead taking up a baseball career that saw him drafted in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft to the Brewers, he maintained collegiate eligibility.
Harrison, who was part of the prospect package in the 2018 Christian Yelich trade between the Brewers and Marlins, decided to leave baseball behind and play football for Arkansas in 2024, walking onto the roster. He’s remained with the Razorbacks since, now 31 years old.
Harrison has primarily contributed to Arkansas’ special teams unit over the last two seasons.
Billy Gowers, P, Indiana
One of many punters on this list, Billy Gowers transferred to Indiana this past offseason, joining the defending national champions after a 2025 stint at Hawai’i.
Prior to playing college football, Gowers, now 30, was an Australian rules football player, starring for Western and Port Melbourne before his commitment to Hawai’i. Gowers was Western’s leading goal scorer during the 2018 campaign, also claiming a Jim “Frosty” Miller Medal for his goal-kicking in 2024.
Gowers, who is from Brisbane, Australia, had 25 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2025 for Hawai’i and will now be tasked with punting footballs for the Hoosiers, one of the best teams in the sport.
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Daniel Hughes, P, Florida State
Landing at Florida State via New Mexico last season is punter Daniel Hughes, a 28-year-old who
Hughes first played college football at the junior college level, spending his freshman season at City College of San Francisco. The Melbourne, Australia, native performed well enough to join the New Mexico Lobos in 2025 — and now, Florida State has brought him on for his junior year. He ranked 29th in FBS in average yards per punt (45.4) last season for the Lobos, per Tomahawk nation.
At 16, he dropped out of high school in Australia, per Tomahawk National, pursuing a carpenter career. But after later returning to get the equivalent to his high school diploma, he got involved with ProKick Australia, eventually becoming a punter at the JUCO level.
Also a content creator with over 50,000 Instagram followers, the 6-5, 219 pound punter now has a gray-haired look — and he was named to the preseason Ray Guy Award watch list, one of the most fascinating figures in the sport this season.
Bailey Ettridge, P, Oregon
Yet another older Australian punter in college football this season is Oregon’s Bailey Ettridge, who transferred from Nevada this past offseason.
Ettridge, 28, is another Aussie Rules-to-college football success story, heading from his hometown of Lara, Australia, to Nevada in 2025. The punter was named an All-Mountain West honorable mention, averaging 44.7 yards over 47 punts, numbers that put him on the Ducks’ radar in the portal.
Wilson Berry, P, Kentucky
Kentucky’s 2026 punter, 28-year-old Wilson Berry, is yet another former Australian Rules Football player. After finding success in ProKick Australia, he was rated by 247Sports as the No. 3 player coming out of Australia in 2020 — and Berry has been in college football since 2021.
Berry, granted a sixth year of eligibility via waiver for 2026, has appeared in 44 games for the Wildcats since 2021, with 91 punts already.
Jackson Ross, P, Tennessee
Over in the SEC sits yet another 27-year-old Australian punter, Jackson Ross, who has played for the Vols since his 2022 freshman season. After attending Haileybury College in Melbourne, Australia — also participating in ProKick Australia — Ross played Australian Rules Football for Hawthorn Football Club, then committed to Tennessee.
Ross became the Vols’ starting punter in 2023, a role he’s held since. In his 2025 senior season, Ross was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, Tennessee’s first since Michael Palardy in 2013. He led the SEC and was second in the country in percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line (51.3%).
Heading into his fifth collegiate season, Ross has become one of college football’s best punters.
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