It’s been quite a week for new Green Bay Packers cornerback Don Callis.
“I was working a job about a week ago and then I graduated college and then they called me an hour or two later after I graduated,” Callis said after his first practice of Packers training camp on Tuesday. “It was a blessing to get that call. We worked out this morning; I did pretty solid and I guess I impressed.”
Callis, who was among a group of cornerbacks who worked out for the team on Tuesday morning, graduated from Troy on Friday with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Callis – a bit undersized at 5-foot-10 1/4 and 174 pounds but with 4.42 speed in the 40 – went undrafted this year. He participated as a tryout player at the Packers’ and 49ers’ rookie camps but was not signed.
“I was just hoping and praying that somebody would call,” he said. “My agent kept saying, ‘Be patient. Be patient.’ I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know. Maybe I need to go to the XFL or something.’ He was like, ‘No, just keep being patient.’ I stayed down and I’m here now.”
Meanwhile, with uncertain NFL prospects, Callis got a job.
“I was a lawn mower,” he said. “Outside, from 5 in the morning to 5 o’clock for $11 an hour for this guy named Mr. Todd. It was very humbling but I’m blessed to be here now playing football, doing what I love.”
It had been about two-and-a-half months since Callis had his shot with the 49ers. That’s a lot of grinding with no guarantee of ever getting another opportunity. It tested his patience and his motivation.
“It was definitely hard,” he said. “I was definitely down and out at first. ‘Man, is football even for me?’ I was asking questions like that but sooner or later, it’s like, ‘It’s for me. I’ve been doing this since I was young. I’m going to keep going.’ I just got the motivation again to keep going, keep pushing. I put my faijth in the most high God and that’s all that she wrote.”j
Callis spent his first four seasons at East Central University, a school located in Ada, Okla., before finishing his career last year at Troy. A key backup during the final two-thirds of the season, he broke up four passes. Pro Football Focus charged him with 11-of-18 for 167 yards and zero touchdowns.
Three months after going undrafted, everything fell into place this week.
Starting with getting his diploma.
“My auntie, she told me months ago, ‘Maybe you just need to get your degree first before they call you,’” Callis said. “And she was right. They called.”
And Callis did the rest. Now, he has his opportunity to compete against the best of the best in the NFL.
