WATCH: Tennessee wide receiver Jimmy Calloway ejected for punching Akron player
Tennessee wide receiver Jimmy Calloway was ejected in the third quarter of Saturday night’s game against the Akron Zips for punching an Akron defensive back multiple times while their helmet was on. The Vols’ wideout was in the locker room before the ejection was officially announced, because it was crystal clear what he did and Calloway immediately knew he was going to be tossed from the game.
The scuffle was instigated to a degree by Akron defensive back Tyson Durant, who put his hands up in Calloway’s facemask following a Tennessee running play. Calloway was heated and threw several punches at Durant with his helmet on, landing a few of them.
Check out the play here, where Calloway and Durant get into a scuffle.
Notice how Durant gave Calloway a finger wag at the end of the video, when he was walking away from the scuffle. Calloway finished the night with two catches for 20 receiving yards before walking to the Tennessee locker room. We’ll have to wait and see what other potential discipline he could face in the future.
In 2021 as a sophomore, Calloway hauled in five catches for 84 receiving yards and a touchdown. As a freshman for the Vols in 2020, he saw action on both special teams and at wideout.
As a high school prospect, he was one of the highest-rated athletes in the country. Calloway was rated as the No. 42 wide receiver in America, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings for the 2020 cycle. He was a track and field star at Morrow High School (Morrow, Georgia) and was clocked at 10.7 in the 100-meter dash.
Tennessee won the game with Akron in blowout fashion, 63-6, so the ejection had little to no effect on the outcome of Saturday night’s game. Tennessee signal-caller Hendon Hooker once again shined, completing 14 of 18 passes for 298 yards, while tossing in two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Vols’ wide receiver Jalin Hyatt had a monster performance, hauling in five catches for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns.