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Published Jul 17, 2017
Callaway reaches plea deal following May marijuana citation
Landon Watnick  •  1standTenFlorida
Beat Writer

The case involving wideout Antonio Callaway’s drug-related May incident is officially closed after a pre-trial conference was held Monday morning.

Callaway has reached a plea deal, pleading no contest to the possession of drug paraphernalia and paying a fine of $301, according to Alachua County court records. Back in early June, Callaway was offered a plea deal stemming from his May marijuana citation.

The citation was filed May 17, after Gainesville police found Callaway in possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis at a traffic stop while as a passenger in the car of Kendrick Williams, a 40-year-old man with an extensive history of run-ins with the law. It was Callaway’s second marijuana-related incident as a Gator, after he admitted during a Title IX case hearing that “I was so stoned, I had no interest in having sex with anyone.” Callaway was eventually cleared of wrongdoing in the case as he returned to the team last offseason before fall training camp.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Callaway will be suspended for Florida’s season-opener against Michigan on Sept. 2. Last Tuesday during SEC Media Days, McElwain didn’t provide much of an update on the matter, as he hasn’t yet reached an official decision on Callaway's status for the opener.

“He's going through some things right now, and obviously he's been handling it well,” McElwain said. “We'll continue to see how that goes.”

After meeting with local reporters, McElwain went on to praise Callaway in the main media room.

“You know, and he's going through some things right now, and obviously he's been handling it well. We'll continue to see how that goes,” McElwain said.

“But, he's a talented young man, and he's a really a good American. He's a guy that is fun to watch practice. You know? I've been around some really good players, and I don't want to put him in these categories, but these guys that have been successful, like a guy that I coached at Louisville, Deion Branch, who practiced every day like it was a game. Julio Jones when he was at Alabama. I mean practice. I'm talking about as soon as you walked through the gate, man, it was on. Antonio is one of those guys. He just loves to play the game.”

Arguably Florida’s most dynamic player on offense, Callaway not being available against Michigan would obviously be a big blow. Last season as a sophomore, he finished with a team-best 721 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 54 catches. Around the time of Callaway’s pre-trial conference Monday morning, it was announced that Callaway has made the watch list for the 2017 Paul Hornung Award watch list, given to the most versatile player in college football.

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