Antonio Callaway promised NFL teams he's a changed man.
The former Florida receiver had a series of off-field issues before he was suspended for the entire 2017 season following a credit care fraud scandal involving nine Florida players.
"A couple players made some mistakes and chose to do something that wasn’t right," Callaway told reporters Friday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "Obviously, it cost us our season. I moved on from it. I’ve grown. I’ve learned from the experience."
The 5-11, 200-pound receiver took the field Saturday and put on a show at Lucas Oil Stadium. He posted the third-fastest time in the 40-yard dash at 4.41 seconds and was among the top performers in both the vertical leap and broad jump. That burst is easy to see on the field, especially when he burst on the scene as a freshman in 2015 with 35 receptions for 678 yards and four touchdowns. He also returned two punts for scores in his first year and added a kickoff return for a touchdown in his sophomore season, when he caught 54 passes for 721 yards and three touchdowns.
"The thing about Callaway is he’s very explosive out of his breaks," wide receivers coach David Robinson, who has been training NFL Draft prospects for 12 years, told Omnisport. "I haven’t seen many receivers, especially in college, play really fast coming out of his breaks.
"That’s one thing that he really does have in his game."
Callaway's final suspension was the last of multiple suspensions while at Florida. Robinson said how Callaway's interviews at the NFL Combine will be "really big" because teams know what he can do on the field.
"That’s what he’s going to have to sell to teams – that he’s changed and is more mature and is all about football," Robinson said. "I really believe he’s a guy who’s a first-round talent, but might slide to Round 5 or 6. He’s going to be a steal. He’s probably the best receiver in the draft, but the off-the-field issues are going to hurt him."
Callaway is aware teams might shy away from his off-field headaches, but described himself Friday as a "great kid" who has learned his lesson.
"I’m moving on. It’s a bigger picture," said Callaway, who even accepted blame for Gators coach Jim McElwain getting fired in the middle of a 4-7 season.
"To see the program go down like that and Coach Mac lose his job, that hurt me because I know it was basically because of me," Callaway said. "I know I could have made a big difference and he would probably still have his job."