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Vols' Callaway a 'celebrity' in hometown

On the way to Gainesville for the Vols-Gators game, we stopped by Warner Robins, Ga., the hometown of Tennessee's breakout star Marquez Callaway.

When the students at Warner Robins (Ga.) Middle School walk out of the cafeteria after breakfast, they start the day with some inspiration from Vols receiver Marquez Callaway.

"Nothing worthwhile comes without dedication and hard work."

The quote from Callaway is displayed on a picture of the Tennessee Vol returning a punt for a touchdown at Neyland Stadium. The photo hangs above the doorway to the school cafeteria.

The quote comes from Callaway's message to the students when he returned to his middle school in May.

"He’s a huge role model, especially here at Warner Robins Middle," said social studies teacher and football coach Jamal Garman. "His pictures are all over the school and the kids know him, they ask about him all the time. He's a celebrity in our city and he doesn't even know it yet."

Garman taught and coached Callaway in middle school and the two have remained close.

“After games, no matter what time, he’ll call and I’ll stay up and make sure."

Sometimes, Callaway will FaceTime Garman just to hang out and watch TV together.

"It's almost like a big brother, little brother relationship," Garman said.

"Every time he calls, I say, 'hey man, you got the homework done, right?'"

He's taking care of his school work and breaking out on the field in his sophomore year. Callaway has five catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns in two games.

"He's up there, he's wearing number one, not a lot of people wear number one. You don't wear number one and stay on the sidelines. You just can't do that," Garman said.

"When he finally got in, he took advantage of his opportunities and made me smile big. But it's like, I already knew that."

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