Rinaldo Callaway

Physical Profile

Listed at 6-5, 205 lbs. Taller than 79% and heavier than 2% of 2026 Edge Rusher prospects in the SEC Scouts database (169 with a listed size).

Play Style

Callaway is a long, rangy edge who wins with get-off, reach and pursuit. He makes a lot of plays on the backside and in chase situations because he runs well for his frame and keeps working until the whistle, as his 29-TFL junior year shows. His 4 senior interceptions and fumble recoveries show a player who finds the ball in space, so zone drops and screen reads come naturally to him. On offense he played as a flexed or in-line tight end who could stretch the seam. That background shows up on defense in how he sees routes develop when he drops, and in how he uses his hands against blockers. He is at his best on the edge in space and is not yet a two-gap run defender.

Strengths

• Backfield production at a high level for two straight years: 100 tackles, 29 TFL, 11.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles as a junior, then 65 tackles, 18 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 4 INT and 3 fumble recoveries as a senior. That comes to about 89 career TFL and 37 sacks, which shows he consistently beats blocks rather than making a few splash plays.
• He makes plays on the ball. Four interceptions from an edge player and multiple forced fumbles as a senior show awareness, soft hands and the ability to finish, which is also why he fits as a drop-capable outside linebacker in a 3-4 look.
• His two-way tight end background (23 catches, 430 yards, 3 TD as a senior) means he knows how blockers set up and use their hands, and it gives the staff a fallback position if the edge path stalls.
• His ranking kept rising through his senior year, from 247 3-star (87, No. 95 GA) to 4-star (90, No. 34 EDGE, No. 30 GA) and a Rivals300 No. 245. Evaluators raised him after watching senior film, not because of camp buzz.

Areas to Improve

• Play strength and mass: at 230 pounds he has to add weight without losing his first step. The key is setting a firm edge against 300-pound Big Ten tackles and not getting washed out on down blocks and zone runs.
• A more complete pass-rush plan: much of his high school production came from length and athleticism against smaller linemen. He needs a go-to hand move (long-arm or cross-chop) and a counter off it, plus a more consistent bend at the top of the rush.
• Full-time position work: he split reps between DE and TE for most of his career, so his technique as a pure edge (pad level, hand placement, reading run-pass keys) is less refined than that of full-time edge prospects in his class.

College Projection

He will play a developmental EDGE/OLB role at Rutgers. Expect a redshirt-style 2026, using the four-game allowance for special teams or sub-package pass-rush snaps. As of late September 2026 we found no verified game stats. A realistic path is rotational rusher in 2027 after a full year in the strength program, then a competition for a starting job in 2028 at around 245-255 pounds. If the edge path stalls, a move to tight end is a real alternative given what he did in the passing game.

NFL Outlook

He has Day 3 upside with the frame to develop further. NFL teams value length, bend and ball production from the edge, and his arm length and turnover numbers give him a starting point. Whether he gets drafted depends mostly on adding 20-plus pounds without losing burst and on turning production built on athleticism into repeatable pass-rush technique against Big Ten tackles. If that happens by his fourth or fifth year, he fits the mold of a 3-4 OLB or wide-9 rusher. If it doesn't, he projects as a priority free agent or a special-teams and sub-rusher type.

Best Fit

A program with a patient strength-and-conditioning plan that can redshirt him and build up his frame, running a multiple 3-4 or hybrid front where the edge stands up, rushes from wide alignments and sometimes drops into zones. Rutgers under Greg Schiano, with its development-first, defense-driven approach and multiple fronts, is a sensible fit.