Raybon looks to make most of all-star opportunity

It does not take long to find Tez Raybon at a football practice, even in the middle of a group of select players getting ready for the Middle Georgia Football All-Star Game.

Raybon has a distinct advantage on the football field in several ways, the most noticeable being that he is 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds. But if you asked Raybon if his size is the most important factor for him on the football field, he will probably disagree.

“I just love to play the game,” Raybon said. “If I wasn’t this big, I would probably be a safety or something. I love the physical part of the game and being on the field with my brothers and working hard together as a team. I just want to keep playing as long as I can and see where it takes me.”

He is taking part in an all-star game that is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday at Fort Valley State.

Raybon, a senior at Warner Robins, decided at the age of 10 that football was going to be his sport.

“I really liked it even then, and when I got to the seventh grade, my middle school coach, Jamaal Garman, told me I could be a special player,” said Raybon, who stood 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds at that time. “When he told me that, I believed him and I worked hard to become the best player I could be. I got to play varsity football as a ninth-grader, and then I have started the last three years. We never really had the success that we wanted to have, but our team grew up through the losses and I became closer to my brothers on the field.”

Raybon has been in high demand recruiting-wise, but he said he knew right off that he would have to attend a junior college for two years before pursuing his dream of playing major college football.

“First of all, I feel like it is a blessing for me to be able to play anywhere after high school and I am very happy that I will get to go to college and play football, but it is a little frustrating for me to know that I won’t going to a Georgia, Alabama, or Florida next year,’ Raybon said. “I didn’t do what I needed to do in the classroom when I was a freshman, and by the time I figured it out during my sophomore year it was too late. I know it was my doing, and all I can do is learn from it and make sure I stay focused on my academics.

“I feel like it’s important for me now to make sure all the young guys on our team understand how important grades are, and I stay on them about it all the time. But I am still very excited about my future.”

Saturday’s all-star game will be the final high school game for Raybon, and his team has several players from crosstown rival Northside on it.

“Yes, we are huge rivals on the football field, but we all grew up together and we get along off the field,” Raybon said. “On Saturday, these guys are my teammates, and our only goal is to go out and win a football game. I just know that I am excited to get back on the field.”

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Raybon looks to make most of all-star opportunity."