UT Vols' Marquez Callaway finds leadership voice in VOLeaders program

On the indoor football field where Tennessee so often practices, Vols wide receiver Marquez Callaway tried his hand at something a little different Saturday.

The Vols standout crouched in front of a mini soccer goal and did his best to play goalie, blocking shots from kids who attended a day organized by the VOLeaders program.

"Coming out here, it's a blessing and I had a wonderful time myself coming out with all these kids – kids with disabilities, kids without disabilities – to play sports that everyone knows how to play,” Callaway said. “Being able to do that with people from different sports and learning how to adapt and change them so we can all play – people with wheelchairs, people who are blind or people who are amputees – it's just fun.”

Callaway is one of 19 Tennessee athletes in the VOLeaders program, which admits student-athletes to teach them how to impact their communities and use sport along the way.

On Saturday, the months of planning the second Adapted Sports Fest came to fruition. The student-athletes who planned the day, modified the sports to make them doable for all who attended and advertised the event got the reward for their work.

For Callaway, it was his favorite experience through VOLeaders so far because of the work that went into planning the games and adapting them to suit any participant. But the experience runs much deeper for the rising junior wide receiver.

Callaway heard from teammates who went through the program that it changed their perspective on leadership. Now, it has done the same for Callaway, who said he has become a more effective and understanding leader.

"I am a lot more outspoken,” Callaway said. “I will get up and speak in front of the team if I have to. I will do things I am not comfortable with for the betterment of the team. That is one of the biggest things is (VOLeaders) making me not hesitant to get up there in front of the team and give directions."

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Callaway pointed to the way his fellow VOLeaders – a group that includes teammate Trey Smith and basketball standout Grant Williams – interact and lead as a big lesson. He said seeing the differences in how others lead compared to how he leads brought him to “open my perspective” and gain comfort in speaking out in public.

On the football field, that has translated importantly for a young offensive group with lessons from both VOLeaders and past teammates Josh Dobbs, Cam Sutton and Derek Barnett.

“Every team needs a leader,” Callaway said. “I feel like I have stepped up tremendously. Learning from them made me realize that the team does need a leader.

“I feel like I have stepped up, but I'm not going to be able to do it by myself. So being a leader and picking up other teammates to be leaders, it will be a continuous loop."

Callaway, who had 24 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns last season, never has had a problem knowing when to talk. And he increasingly has found his voice in leading the wide receiver group for the Vols.

As for a future as a soccer goalie, Callaway was less certain.

“I'd have to get on the real field to see how that works out,” Callaway said. “Soccer may be my third favorite behind football and basketball.”