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Up next in the Tremendous 24 Series, a collection of inspiring stories of people in sports (athletes, media, coaches) who have overcome challenges and achieved success, is one of my best friends since high school. He’s the epitome of “Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Fails To Work Hard.” I would describe my longtime friend and former North Rockland High School and Caldwell University football wide receiver, Airion Scarlett, as dedicated, hyper-focused, composed, and reliable. After interviewing Anthony Simon, the next person I interviewed (I won’t be going in order the entire series) was Scarlett, as I was still just getting used to interviewing people.
Scarlett played a factor in helping me get two more members of the Tremendous Twenty-Four in his Caldwell teammates, Vinnie Crisafi and Colin Williams. I interviewed Scarlett and released the episode just a week after dropping Anthony’s. Similar to my inaugural interview, it was raining that day, but this time, I stayed in my parking lot instead of driving elsewhere like I did for the first one.
Scarlett was born in Nyack Hospital in Nyack, NY, Rockland County, to his parents, Felicia and Marcus. He lived there until moving to Dallas, Texas, in 2021, fulfilling his wish to move out of the county, as we laughed about early on in the interview. Scarlett wasn’t a big football fan initially; he preferred basketball over football in his early childhood years.
“Growing up… I wasn’t a big fan of football at first; I was more of a basketball-type of guy. I used to like playing basketball more than football…I remember one day I was at my grandma’s house, and I was watching the football game with my dad…The Jets vs the Saints…Ever since that day, it drew me to football.”
Scarlett's dedication to football is genuinely inspiring. Despite not being an immediate fan of the sport, he developed a deep love for it, especially after a pivotal moment watching a Jets vs. Saints game with his dad. This love blossomed in high school, where he began to express his passion for the game, a journey sure to inspire admiration in all sports enthusiasts.
“When I got to high school… Junior year or senior year set it off for me; I was like, yeah, I really love football… I started training hard…To see if I can go to a college and play…Opportunity opened up for me at Caldwell.”
Scarlett’s love for football runs deep. He loves how football players must be on the same page as a collective unit for the team to win. That is true, and it is something we see all the great football teams throughout the years possess to win at the highest level, whether professionally, collegiately, or at the academic level. He continued playing running back in eighth grade at Fieldstone Middle School.
After middle school, Scarlett attended North Rockland High School for his next four years, where we would meet each other and become good friends. During his first year, he didn’t play football that season but made his Michael Jordanesque “I’m Back” return, this time at a new position.
“Sophomore year, I came back to it and then I switched my position to wide receiver because I knew I was fast so, and I could catch the ball… Ever since I went to receiver…I found success in receiver…Flying past a lot of players like they couldn’t catch me.”
Switching to wide receiver is a position favored by taller players. Standing just 5-foot-9, Scarlett overcame that due to his blistering speed and footwork, which he worked on religiously on hot summer days on the field and in the gym.
“Obviously, I used my speed 'cause that’s going to help get open…Also my footwork, I worked on my footwork in high school…That really helps you get to where you need to go faster, create space, get in and out of your breaks.”
Scarlett's admiration for past NFL greats is a testament to his dedication to the sport. He studied players like DeSean Jackson, who shared his frame and play style and even adopted their numbers as his own. His transition from JV to varsity was marked by an increased attention to detail, including more film study in his last two years of high school.
Scarlett’s workouts intensified and advanced, taking his body to the next level and allowing him to withstand more prominent, stronger players on the varsity level. He referenced his dad as the most considerable influence on his football career, which got him interested in the game—even more heartfelt, considering his dad broke his leg playing football when he was younger.
“He basically taught me the game of football before I even played… I didn’t know what the downs were…He taught me everything.”
Scarlett graduated from North Rockland in 2017 and became a walk-on player at Caldwell University in the inaugural year of the football program. Many players came to try out for the team in a showdown to see who would make the final cut. With the school just implementing football, they struggled to find wins, going a combined (3-18) Scarlett’s first three seasons.
When I interviewed Scarlett that season, COVID was at its peak, which unfortunately limited the season to just two games, pushing it back to spring 2021. Scarlett decided not to play his senior season due to its shortened length and focused on graduating from Caldwell, which he did in May 2021 with a BS in sports management.
He’s not only a football player but also has an entrepreneurial mindset, enjoying learning how to invest and always looking for other revenue streams of income as he was doing what many at the time were doing (Forex), but now he works in sales. We eventually got into quick hitters, where I asked him questions such as his all-time top five NFL players.
“I’m going to say… Jerry Rice…Michael Irvin...Adrian Peterson…Deion Sanders…Brian Dawkins.”
I then asked Scarlett who his NFL and NBA goats are.
“I’m going to start with basketball, the goats…For basketball… I don’t watch too much, but I know the players… For me, I’m going to have to say Kobe.”
He then chose former Baltimore Ravens star Ray Lewis as his NFL GOAT due to his infectious energy, which hyped his teammates and the crowd. We then got into his all-time top five NBA players and all-time starting five.
“Allen Iverson, Jordan…I like Shaq,,, I got to say Kobe obviously…This is going to be shocking, but KD (laughs).”
His starting five included three of his top five players except Iverson and Kobe Bryant, and he replaced them with two of the greatest of their generation, Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Scarlett even put me on the spot and asked me my starting five in NBA history, and I chose Magic Johnson, Jordan, James, Tim Duncan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which is still my starting five today.
I then asked Scarlett how he wanted to be remembered. He mentioned wanting to be remembered for his love for football, his relaxed and laid-back attitude, and his dislike of drama. He hopes to eventually get something in sports, whether becoming a sports agent for athletes or getting a front office job.
Scarlett has lived in Dallas, Texas, with his mom since 2021. He currently works in sales, helping people financially. Scarlett was also invited to the 2024 NBA All-Star festivities, where he met and connected with another Tremendous 24 member in Gigi Speer (you’ll read about later down the road), along with meeting and seeing NBA legends and people who work in the league.
How would I describe Airion? He is loyal, grounded, determined, and laid-back. He may be the mentally toughest person in the group (which is saying a lot) and one of the hardest, if not the hardest, workers I’ve ever met. He has something in him you can’t teach people to have, which is that hunger and desire to strive for more.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scarlett’s ascension continue as his journey progresses, because he genuinely has that greatness within him.
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