Luke Fickell Complains About Older Players In College Football, Seems To Forget His Own QB

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell is a bit baffled by older players in college football, but he should take a look at his own roster.

Older players in college football isn't exactly new. Players have always been able to redshirt and get medical hardship waivers for extra eligibility. However, the COVID year really took things to the next level because the season didn't count for anyone.

Every single player in the country got a free extra year, and that's caused some players to stick around who should be long gone.

It certainly doesn't sound like Luke Fickell is a fan of older guys playing college football.

Luke Fickell is a bit baffled by sixth and seventh year players in college football. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

"This world today, I think we’ve still got a couple more years left of not knowing how old or what guys have left in the tank based on how many years of experience. I just saw Minnesota’s got a seventh year guy and I just saw a Utah quarterback is saying he’s coming back for a seventh year. Is this still college football? I don’t know. I’m not sure it was meant to be six years, seven years. There’s a lot of those things still hanging," Fickell told the press this week when talking about older players, according to On3.com.

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell doesn't seem to love older players in college football.

Fickell's opinion isn't exactly rare. Fans heard it a lot when Georgia was rolling with Stetson Bennett at QB. Bennett started college in 2017 and was still playing 2022. The former Bulldogs passer was 25-years-old playing college football, and a lot of people had differing opinions. It's just not normal to see.

However, this is a bit rich coming from Luke Fickell, and I say that as a well-documented Wisconsin man. The reason why is shockingly simple.

Wisconsin's starting QB Tanner Mordecai is in his sixth year. Mordecai started his college career in 2018 with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Tanner Mordecai started playing college football in 2018. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

It's now 2023 and he's the starting QB of the Wisconsin Badgers. The man recently turned 24. Most people are in the workforce by that age. Mordecai is still slinging passes on Saturday.

Not sure how Luke Fickell expects to be taken seriously on the issue of older players sticking around when his very own QB is doing just that. Did the Badgers coach have a momentarily lapse in memory? Did he forget who is under center for his own team? Fickell definitely shouldn't have.

Tanner Mordecai is playing his sixth season of college football. Luke Fickell doesn't seem to love players sticking around that long. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

You can have any opinion you want on older players sticking around in college football. However, nobody is going to take a coach seriously when he complains while starting a 24-year-old at QB like Luke Fickell does.