Douglas Callihan has made his verbal pledge to play football for the University of Delaware.
Callihan received 21 scholarship offers, which included 19 from NCAA DI schools. He settled on the Blue Hens and noted the U.S. Naval Academy, Jacksonville State, Coastal Carolina and Kennesaw State were also in the mix.
“Those were the schools I felt were most interested in me and the ones I was most interested in,” Callihan said.
Delaware was ranked as the No. 10 public university among 235 schools nationwide, according to the Wall Street Journal’s College Pulse. UD coaches have projected Callihan to take the field at weakside linebacker in their 3-3-5 defensive scheme.
“I felt like I trusted the coaches at Delaware, and the job security was there in a world of college football now where people are bumping around so much,” Callihan said. “There are alumni at the school and I felt like they were gonna be around to help develop me. That was big being able to get developed. They won a bunch at the FCS level, just moved up to FBS and had a winning record (7-6) and won a bowl game (over Louisiana, 20-17) last season.”
Callihan was surprised by the connections he made on his official visit.
“I felt like I connected with the players and the staff," Callihan said. "Originally going there, I didn’t think I was gonna connect with guys, but they have some Georgia boys up there. It just felt right and I felt good about it.”
Callihan enters his senior season at GHS at 6’ and 215 pounds. He bench presses 315 pounds, squats 550, power cleans 315 and is a three-year starter at linebacker and halfback. He is a three-time all-region player and was selected to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s Class 3A all-state north squad as a sophomore and junior.
Callihan said his verbal commitment to Delaware is “solid,” but he may consider other options if the right situation arises. The early signing period for 2026 opens Dec. 4 and lasts 72 hours.
“I feel like I am (hard committed), but at the same time, if I have a really good senior season and somebody like Georgia Tech offered or something, I feel like that would definitely be something I would look into,” Callihan said. “But I feel like I would actually have to be in that position to be able to say. As of right now, I’m 100 percent committed to Delaware.”