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Bryceton Sanders is back. The Callaway wide receiver missed the entirety of his junior season with a severe lower-body injury. It’s been a long road back for the senior in red and black and he is ready to make the most of his final season with the Cavaliers.

“All I could think about during rehab was getting back and thankfully I had a lot of people pushing me to come back and always keeping me positive,” Sanders said.

There were never any ifs, ands or buts for Sanders. He was always going to return to the gridiron for his senior season, no matter how much blood, sweat and tears he had to put into the rehab process.

“When I first had the injury it was really difficult and I had a lot of pain, but when I came out of rehab, went to Southern Orthopedic and came to (Callaway athletic trainer) Rob (Dicks) it was a breeze,” he said.

Sanders always had somebody in his corner to push and motivate him. Whether it was his parents, his older brother Braylon or Dicks, Sanders was never short of people to make sure he stuck with rehab.

Before he made his return to the football field, Sanders was able to make it back to the hardwood before the end of the 2023-24 Callaway basketball season. He made an instant impact and helped the Cavaliers capture a region title.

“That was so great man because we lost to Columbia twice in the regular season pretty bad, so to beat them in the region championship was great,” Sanders said.

It was sweet relief for Sanders to get back to playing sports and it was an even sweeter feeling when he finally hit the football field again after being robbed of his junior campaign. Sanders took no time readjusting to life in pads as he torched Bowdom for over 100 receiving yards in Callaway’s scrimmage earlier this season.

Unfortunately, the offense has not been able to click quite the same way in the first two weeks as the team struggles through injuries. Sanders has still made an impact, catching two passes for 29 yards against Opelika. 

That was just an appetizer for what was to come as the senior returned a kickoff to the house and caught the game-winning touchdown in the Cavaliers game against Cook in game three of the season on Friday.

“Man it was so special to get back out there and I couldn’t do it without all my teammates,” Sanders said. “It was exciting to see them make a run last year, but it hurt not being out there with them.”

Sanders, now in his senior year, is one of the leaders on the team. His presence in a talented but youthful wide receiver room has been huge for the Cavaliers this year.

“He’s had to work hard in the offseason to come back from (his injury) and we’re really excited about him being back this year,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said before the season started. “Even though he missed last year, he’s a guy that’s played a lot of ball for us.”

One of the main reasons that Sanders has developed into such a high-character kid and a leader is the presence of former Cavalier football star Braylon Sanders, the older brother of Bryceton, who currently plays for the Miami Dolphins. Braylon helped get the younger Sanders into football and is the sole reason for the latter to play wide receiver.

“Really, my brother has been my role model my whole life,” Sanders said. ”The reason I started playing football was because of him.”

“I love him. He has always been a positive role model and helps me whenever I need it. We worked out together all offseason,” he added.

This could very well be the final run for Sanders on the football field. As a true two-sport athlete, he is taking an open-minded approach to playing either basketball or football at the next level. 

“I love them both and I’m open to whichever takes me further,” Sanders said.