Florida Suspends Antonio Callaway, Six Others For Season Opener vs. Michigan

Antonio Callaway and six other Florida football players have been suspended for the season opener vs. Michigan.

Seven Florida football players — including leading receiver Antonio Callaway — have been suspended for the Gators’ season opener against Michigan because of violations of team rules.

The suspended players are Callaway, junior defensive end Keivonnis Davis, freshman offensive lineman Kadeem Telfort, redshirt freshman defensive lineman Jordan Smith, sophomore defensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones, freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller and freshman linebacker James Houston. 

Callaway, a junior from Miami, has had multiple issues at Florida, but this will be his first suspension for a game. He was cited for marijuana possession in May, but this suspension is for an unrelated incident. A Florida spokesman declined to reveal the specific reason for the suspension. 

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Callaway also was suspended from team activities during the spring semester in 2016 after a woman accused him of sexual assault. Callaway was found not responsible at a hearing last August and placed back on the team. He played in 12 games, missing the North Texas game with an injury, and gained a team-high 721 receiving yards on a team-high 54 catches. Callaway’s accuser in the earlier case has since filed a Title IX complaint against the university. Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Timesreported last week that a second Title IX inquiry has been opened related to that case, and records the paper obtained through a public records request suggest this complaint has come from Callaway and his attorney.

The only other player in this group who was likely to contribute against Michigan was Davis. Davis played in every game in 2016, starting five. He made five tackles in the SEC championship game loss to Alabama and forced a fumble in the Outback Bowl win against Iowa.