‘The new Bryce’
Amid bounce-back season, Broncos’ CB not trying to return to past form
ENGLEWOOD— The goal of the drill wasn’t to follow the bouncing ball, but to catch it.
Training at Ollin Athletic and Sports Medicine in suburban Houston this offseason, Broncos cornerback Bryce Callahan was being led through a workout by Minh Luu.
Luu would release the tennis ball for an initial bounce.
“The goal is to start from a dead-stop or back-pedaling and get the ball before it bounces a second time,” he said. “Bryce was doing the drill and I was like, ‘Hey, be careful.’”
Careful because Callahan was only months removed from surgery to repair a foot injury that cost him all of last season. Luu didn’t want him to take any chances and wanted him to be cautious in his movements. Feeling he needed to move quickly, Callahan took off his shoes and started 7-8 yards ahead of Luu. He got the ball before the second bounce. Luu: “Does it hurt?” Callahan: “Nah.”
Luu: “OK, I guess you’re good.”
Callahan was good … and has started the season just as well, playing all but three of 291 defensive snaps entering Sunday’s game at New England. Minus A.J. Bouye (shoulder), Callahan has been the team’s No. 1 cornerback and moved to the nickel spot covering New York Jets slot receiver Jamison Crowder mid-game in Week 4, a role he will continue to play against Patriots receiver Julian Edelman.
In man coverage, according to The Denver Post’s game charting, Callahan has allowed 14 completions for only 121 yards (no touchdowns/no penalties). The frustrations of last year — gone. The work ethic to regain his form — a constant.
“He’s where he’s at because he outworked people and is talented,” said David Bailiff, his coach at Rice. “That’s just how he’s made. He’s a gritty guy who never complains and he’s going to figure out a way through his intelligence and hard work to overcome obstacles.”
And Callahan has experienced some obstacles.
‘He made play after play’
Callahan, who turns 29 later this month, was born in Moscow, Idaho, which is where his stepfather worked for a company that constructed water towers.
“Anytime he finished a project, we would get in our trailer and go to the next one,” Callahan said in a phone interview with The Post last week. “We probably lived in 15, 16 states before settling in Texas.”
Callahan said his favorite stops were in California and North Carolina and the moves were so frequent that he would attend the fall semester in one state and the spring semester in another. His family moved to Texas when Bryce was in the third grade. Callahan was an all-star safety and returner for his high school in Cypress, located about 40 minutes northwest of downtown Houston.
But the college recruiters never flooded him with offers. According to 247Sports, Callahan was ranked No. 2,149 nationally and No. 323 in Texas in the Class of 2010. Callahan visited Kentucky, but committed to Rice after touring its campus. He credits high school teammate Sam Mcguffie, who was transferring from Michigan to Rice, for convincing him that even a lower-profile program gets noticed.
“He told me, ‘You don’t need a big school to make it to the NFL,’” Callahan said.
Callahan redshirted in 2010; Bailiff said the coaches could have played him but wanted to foster his progress. Once he started playing, he started producing takeaways. Playing opposite current Houston Texans cornerback Phillip Gaines, Callahan led all FBS freshmen with six interceptions.
“Teams (threw at him) and we loved it,” Bailiff said with a laugh. “If you threw a 50-50 ball, it was 100% Bryce’s. He has the ability to hang in the air almost like he’s defying gravity and come up with the big play. He just made play after play and was very courageous — he wouldn’t shy away from contact and tackle.”
Despite the production, Callahan wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but shined at Rice’s Pro Day with a 4.32-second 40-yard dash, 43K -inch vertical jump and 11-foot broad jump. It didn’t get him drafted, though.
Undrafted, undaunted
Leading into the 2015 draft, Thurmond tried to sell an NFL team — any team — on the value of Callahan. He knew what Callahan could add to a locker room, a culture, a game plan.
“I kept trying to tell people before the draft, not that I’m the ‘ Oracle of Delphi,’ but I saw him every day and knew he could play,” Thurmond said. “Thankfully, the Bears took a chance on him and it panned out.”
Chicago reached out after more than 30 cornerbacks were drafted. Callahan had no time to mourn. He reached a contract agreement to join recently-hired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and secondary coach Ed Donatell.
“He was (a priority),” said Donatell, in his second year as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. “We have a profile for (cornerbacks) and Bryce was a guy who was productive in college and sometimes, a player is missing an inch or two and we go get those guys and look to develop them.”
Donatell remembered it was in training camp when he, Fangio and coach John Fox realized they had a diamond in Callahan.
Fangio and Donatell left for the Broncos after the 2018 season and prioritized bringing one player with them: Callahan.
Getting ready for 2020
Callahan signed a threeyear, $21 million contract with the Broncos in March 2019, the idea being to play him opposite Chris Harris in the base defense and slide inside to cover the slot receiver in those situations. It would be Callahan’s first chance to be an every-down NFL player.
“The thing we always thought is he had the ability to play inside and outside,” Donatell said. “He didn’t play a lot of outside (for the Bears), but we thought he had the capability because of his ball skills and long speed.”
Callahan’s first year with the Broncos never got out of the starting block because of a broken screw in his foot.
The Broncos and Callahan exhausted multiple rehabilitation ideas until shutting him down and inserting new hardware. After the season, Callahan returned to the Houston area for a process that began as rehabilitation before turning into preparation.
The offseason work paid off when Callahan reported to training camp in late July, but the motivation remained — prove he can be an all-situations cornerback. Another obstacle to climb.
Is Callahan playing like he the old Callahan in Chicago two years ago?
“The new Bryce, man,” he said. “We’re not looking back at the past. Just trying to play some good ball here.”