'It just makes things surreal' Forest legend Tony Cayson has jersey retired

Hours before Tony Cayson’s jersey retirement, he was walking around the athletic campus at Forest High School as if it were a normal Friday. As the ceremony neared, he's just as humble as any other day.

Fifteen minutes before kick-off, the Forest football team created a human tunnel with Cayson's high school jersey enclosed in a memorabilia frame at the end of it. On the opposite end, Cayson stood soaking in the cheers from the crowd and his team while the announcer read off a long list of career achievements.

“It’s been a long time going to school here, coaching here, now getting my number retired; it just makes things surreal,” Cayson said. “You never know where life is going to take you. Now I influence these kids.”

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Tony Cayson lived a life some of his players can’t fathom. He picked up football in the eighth grade, playing several positions before landing at running back as a freshman. At the recommendation of Forest's former head coach Jim Simmons, he transitioned to quarterback as a junior. Cayson went from struggling, to taking snaps, to the No. 2 option quarterback in the country with 80s powerhouses Notre Dame, Miami, Florida and other power fives recruiting him.

While battling future hall of famers Emmitt Smith and Leroy Butler on the gridiron, he began growing traction on the baseball diamond. Cayson, who was signed to Clemson to play football even though his heart was set on playing for Notre Dame, caught a Major League Baseball scout's eye.

“A guy came to see another guy on my baseball team, Kevin Tippett, ”A couple of scouts saw me and kept coming around.”

Cayson chose his first love, baseball, over Clemson after being drafted out of high school in the 28th round by the Seattle Mariners in 1987.

After three seasons with the Mariner’s single A team, the Bellingham Mariners, Cayson's athletic career pivoted. Years away from the football field allowed a knee injury he sustained as a junior to heal and reignited his love for the game.

While Power 5 programs still showed interest, he chose Carson-Newman University in Tennessee. There, he had to readjust to the quarterback position. His first score for his new team came from a fumbled snap that Cayson turned into a 50-plus yard touchdown run.

“I always knew I could bounce back to it,” Cayson said. “I saw other guys play baseball and come back. Deion (Sanders) was one of the players I always watched who played football and baseball.”

When Cayson graduated from Carson Newman, he returned to Ocala, a newly opened Belleview High School hired him to teach and coach. Forest didn’t have an open position then, but a few seasons later, when long-time Forest head coach Wayne Yancey took over the baseball and football programs, he brought his former player home.

As Cayson looks back on his playing and coaching careers, it’s the people he’s most proud of who've reached out. He’s received texts from former players, former teammates, and his son, TJ Cayson, who’s currently stationed in the Persian Gulf with the Navy.

“He said congratulations, and I didn’t expect him to get the message because I doubt her from him for two or three weeks, depending on if they have service,” Cayson said. “That was a real treat to hear from him.”

Coach Yancey and his son were memorable names to reach out about his jersey retirement. Yancey coached both Caysons during his tenure.

After 28 years of coaching, Cayson is like his former coach, mentoring the sons of former athletes. The same man who was roommates with Ken Griffey Jr. never saw himself teaching, especially for this long time, but it’s where he feels he needs to be.

“The knowledge that I have of football and baseball, I know I can give these kids different looks and ideas of how to make it to the next level,” Cayson said. “I know things have changed since I’ve come out of school, but it’s still hard work and dedication.”

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Remembering a historic career: Forest honors coach Tony Cayson