Calloway named All-American

“Today has been the day it really hit me,” Calloway said. “I’m still in shock.”

With an invitation to the premier high school football event in the nation, it is understandable that Calloway would be surprised.

There are more than 1 million high school football players in the United States, but only 90 of them are selected each year for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

“The odds of getting picked are way up there,” Russellville coach Doug Goodwin said. “I know it will be an outstanding honor for him. It’s an honor for our program and it’s an honor for the city of Russellville.”

The road to the game has been a bit unusual for Calloway, who transferred from Florence and was unable to play his freshman season. 

“Coming out as a freshman and not getting to play a full year, I thought it would set me back,” Calloway said. “It didn’t set me back. It made me more humble and more motivated to go out there and play.”

He had a break out season his sophomore year, scoring 23 touchdowns and helping guide the Golden Tigers to the state championship game.

He had another great season his junior year as Russellville played for a state title again.

This season Calloway has rushed for 1,389 yards and 18 touchdowns on 147 carries as the Golden Tigers clinched the Class 5A, Region 8 title and a preparing for another playoff run.

“It’s moved very fast. It’s been a short three years,” Calloway said. “I’m just hoping we can win a championship this year. We have to win this one — we don’t have a choice.”

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl selection committee, comprised of Rivals.com, Tom Lemming and All-American Games, decides which players will be competing in the game. The committee narrows thousands of top prospects down to 400 players in the spring before choosing the final 90 players.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl has several notable alumni including, NFL players Reggie Bush, Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson, Ndamukong Suh, Tim Tebow and Vince Young. There are currently more than 50 former U.S. Army All-Americans in the NFL today.

Calloway is the second Russellville player selected for the game. Arron Sears played in the game in 2003.

During his career Calloway has gained national attention as various recruiting magazines have ranked him as one of the best players in the United States. He has racked up several honors, including an invite to participate in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Classic and being named as one of 12 finalists for the high school Butkus Award given to the best high school linebacker in the nation.

Calloway verbally committed to the University of Alabama following his sophomore season, but has taken recruiting trips to other programs.

“I’m still solid on Alabama,” Calloway said. “I’m going to look around and see what other schools have to offer and not just shut myself off.”

Goodwin said the best thing about Calloway is that he has remained humble despite all of the attention.

“It would have been easy for him to think he was better than everybody else and walk around with his head stuck up in the clouds,” Goodwin said. “He’s done a good job of being a teammate and being a productive member of our team. He’s concentrating on what he is doing here and not on what he’s got laying out in front of him.”