A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Good morning. I'm A Martinez. Ray Ruschel is not your average college football player because at the age of 49, he's older than his coach and old enough to be his teammates' dad. An Army veteran who works nights at a North Dakota sugar beet factory, Ruschel decided to play junior college football. His number is his age in reverse, 94. The defensive lineman says that he has not yet felt the pain of his age on the field. His secret, he tells the Associated Press, I just got to keep stretching. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.