Callender took everything she learned in those internships back to Princeton with her.
She took on more scouting tasks, sat in position meetings, went to more recruiting events, and continued to learn the ropes.
In 2022, she returned to the Buccaneers after being selected as the team’s Nuun-Wooten Scouting Fellow, a program implemented by the NFL in 2015 to expose interested and qualified candidates to a career in pro scouting.
The fellowship is highly competitive, and only open to applicants who have played in the NFL, played college football, or are currently working in college football recruiting or personnel.
With all this experience, it didn’t matter that she was a woman, nor that she didn’t play herself. Callender’s resume spoke for herself, and the people around her picked up on this work ethic.
“Along the way, I’ve always had people I worked with who really vouched for me and didn’t treat me differently because I was a woman,” Callender said.
“If you work hard and understand there’s no job too small, doors open up. I do think I felt like I had to be prepared more, but that’s only because I didn’t play a sport. I wasn’t an athlete. I didn’t really grow up in a football family. There were a lot of things going against me, so I didn’t mind putting in the extra work or doing the extra job to get to the point I needed to be at.”
Right now, that place is in New England, getting ready for her first free agency and draft, where the Patriots are poised with cap space and this year’s third-overall selection.
After contacting Camren Williams, Patriots director of college scouting, she was hired as the franchise’s first full-time female scouting assistant.
“A lot of people I’ve worked with have told me not to compare myself to other people,” Callender said.
“My mom has always said, you have to run your own race. So you just remind yourself of that, and if you do more, more doors…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…