DESTIN, Fla. _ Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin said he and football coach Jim McElwain are engaged in a dialogue about how to discipline star receiver Antonio Callaway.
What is said will remain between Stricklin and McElwain, but Callaway's status for the Sept. 2 opener against Michigan will be among the topics.
"That's a conversation for Coach Mac and me to have," Stricklin said. "That's not something I'm going to discuss publicly."
Callaway's off-the-field troubles have been a long-standing issue.
Asked initially if he was involved in Callaway's "situation," Stricklin replied, "Which one?"
This time last year Callaway was mired in a Title IX investigation for sexual battery, but eventually found to be "not responsible."
On May 13, Callaway was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession while he was a passenger in a car with Kendrick Williams, a 40-year-old Gainesville man with a history of brushes with the law. Callaway's court date is scheduled for June 19, but he could enter a plea between now and then.
Stricklin said he is confident McElwain will take the appropriate disciplinary action, noting the third-year coach has suspended key players in the past. Star cornerback Jalen Tabor, for example, served one-game suspensions in 2015 and 2016.
"One thing you have to respect about Coach Mac is he has never shied away from discipline as a teachable moment," Stricklin said. "Candidly, to this point we've had an issue come up and he's said, hey this is what I'm going to do and he's handled it well. He has not shied away from having to use discipline in the past.
"He's sat key guys in the past."
