Here are five things to know about Chargers new cornerback, Bryce Callahan
Played college ball with Chargers defensive lineman Christian Covington
Callahan reunites with his former college teammate at Rice University in Christian Covington. Callahan attended Rice from 2010 to 2014 where he recorded 13 career interceptions, while Covington was there from 2011-2014. During the 2013 season, the two played in 14 games each for the Owls defense where the team put together a 10-4 season.
Callahan and Covington were both Kinesiology majors at Rice together.
Reunited with Brandon Staley and defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill
The reunions continue in L.A. for Callahan as he teams up with two former defensive coaches in Chargers head coach Brandon Staley and defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill. Prior to signing with the Bolts, Callahan was with the Bears from 2015-2018 and then the Broncos from 2019-2021. That familiarity played a role in why the CB chose to come to L.A.
"Free agency, it was kind of slow starting off, but about two weeks in, [Head] Coach [Brandon] Staley called me and told me that they were interested and were going to try to work something out," Callahan said. "I was excited, a familiar face. It's the same kind of defense that I've been in my whole career, so I knew that if I came here, I'd be comfortable and get in and hit the ground rolling. That played a big part in choosing [here]."
In his final season in Chicago, Callahan also played alongside new Chargers OLB Khalil Mack. The Bears had one of the top-ranked defenses in the NFL that season and won the NFC North.
From undrafted free agent to key contributor on defense
After going undrafted in 2015, Callahan was signed by the Chicago Bears. He made his NFL debut on Sept. 13 against the Green Bay Packers, but was waived by the Bears just nine days after. Callahan was re-signed by the Bears a few days later to the team's practice squad and was promoted to the active roster on October 20th.
Callahan recorded his first career pass deflection against the Chargers in early November of the 2015 season and ended his rookie season with 21 tackles, four pass break ups and one sack in nine games.
Heading in to the 2022 season, Callahan has recorded six interceptions, 5.0 sacks and 191 combined tackles in his six year NFL career.
Born in Idaho, attended high school in Texas
Callahan was born in Moscow, Idaho but grew up in Cypress, Texas where he attended Cypress Woods High School. While in high school, he was named to the 5A All State First-team and Dave Campbell's Texas Football's 2009 All-Texas High School team.
Callahan was also ranked by Dave Campbell's Texas Football as one of the top 20 defensive backs in Texas. He also was a two-way player in high school as he recorded two touchdowns on offense and 167 receiving yards his senior year.
Excels at slot corner
During Callahan's second NFL season he was named the Bears starting slot corner. During the 2018 season, Callahan finished the year with 45 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 2 interceptions. He received an overall grade of 81.4 from Pro Football Focus in 2018, which ranked as the 7th highest grade among all qualifying cornerbacks and 3rd among all slot cornerbacks.
Browse through photos of the Chargers newest cornerback, Bryce Callahan.
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