Former Iowa Hawkeyes offensive lineman and Buffalo Bills Draft pick Kyle Calloway was struck and killed by a train over the holiday weekend. Calloway was out jogging routinely on a route very familiar to him near Tucson, Arizona, on July 2 when he was bit by the train. He was just 29.
“We are all stunned and very saddened to hear of the tragic accident claiming the life of Kyle Calloway,” said a statement from Iowa Hawkeyes Coach Kirk Ferentz.
“Our heartfelt condolences and prayers go out to Kyle’s family and to those who knew him. He was a valued and respected member of our program.”
According to police in Tucson, Calloway died on Saturday after “he was struck from behind by a westbound train.” Authorities noted that he had been jogging “on and off the tracks.”
Kyle Calloway’s father, Ed, told The Gazette that his son regularly ran along the tracks near Vail, Ariz., and speculated that his son lost his bearings because he was “going back and forth across the tracks to get out of the mud.”
“Our presumption is this train was on the opposite side that he was used to so he got on to the side so the train would have been coming at him from the front,” Ed Calloway told the paper. “We think that he got confused because the train somehow had been slopped over and was going in a different direction that he was used to. We don’t know, we’re just assuming that’s what happened.”
Calloway was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but cut before the season started. He then signed on with the Baltimore Ravens in 2011, and saw action in two preseason games. He never played in any NFL regular season contests.
Calloway joined the Iowa Hawkeyes football program from East High School in Belleville, Illinois, where he had participated in football, basketball, and track.
Calloway started 37 of his final 38 games as a Hawkeye, including the final 12 games as a senior in 2009. Iowa posted an 11-2 record in his final season, and he started at right tackle in Iowa’s 16-9 win over Georgia Tech in the 2010 Orange Bowl. The Hawkeyes were ranked seventh in the final rankings. Calloway, who played primarily right tackle, earned second team All-Big Ten honors as a junior and senior.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram