CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Antonio Callaway grew up in such a rough part of Miami that it's remarkable he's still standing, let alone standing in front of a group of reporters in a Browns uniform.

"The worst of the worst,'' he said on day two of Browns rookie minicamp Saturday. "From killing to drug selling to you name it, I've seen it at a young age."

It was just him, his mom and his four little sisters growing up. They didn't have much but each other.

"It's hard where I'm from,'' he said, so softspoken that he's barely audible at times. But he never pined for the father figure he never had.

"I ain't searching for that someone,'' he said "My mom, she's my hero."

With violence and poverty all around him, he found his refuge in football.

"Growing up, I didn't want that life, so I stuck with football,'' he said. "I wasn't a troubled kid. I ain't never get in trouble till I got to college."

Drafted by the Browns in the fourth round out of Florida, Callaway, who left midway through practice Saturday with a toe injury, fell in with the wrong crowd at school and got in trouble time and again.

In December of 2015, he was accused of sexual assault and suspended from the school that offseason, but was cleared in August of 2016 in a Title IX hearing. His accuser and her attorney boycotted the proceeding because it was adjudicated by a Florida booster. During the hearing, he said he was "so stoned I had no interest in having sex with anyone."

In May of 2017, Callaway was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession, and was in the car with a 40-year man, Kendrick Williams, who had been arrested more than a dozen times in Florida for drugs, guns, battery, auto theft and more.

Last season, he was suspended the whole year for allegedly using stolen credit cards to fund a bookstore account, and in March, he had a diluted urine sample at the NFL combine, which constitutes a failed test. Still, Browns general manager John Dorsey, who did "extensive research" on Callaway that included sending people to Gainesville, Fla., took a chance on him in the fourth round.

Without the long rap sheet, Dorsey believes Callaway (5-10, 200) would've been the first or second receiver drafted. In his two seasons at Florida, he caught 89 passes for 1,399 yards and seven touchdowns. He's also the first player in school history to score touchdowns via rushing, receiving, passing, punt return and kickoff return in a career.

While out of football last season, he spent more than a month training at N.U.M.A. Speed in Gainesville with Tim Montgomery, the former Olympic gold medal sprinter who overcame a troubled past of his own. At times, Callaway wondered if he'd ever get to this point.

"I questioned it a little bit, but I just kept my faith up, praying on it and leaving it in God's hands,'' he said.

At N.U.M.A, Montgomery mentored the young and troubled wideout and also introduced him to Browns receiver Josh Gordon, who trained at N.U.M.A while trying to get reinstated to the NFL.

Callaway trained alongside Gordon "for about a week. But it was just all work. There wasn't too much social,'' said Callaway.

About six weeks ago, Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, who has a heart for the hurting, reached out to fellow Miamian Callaway on Twitter and offered to take him under his wing.

"(He's) basically just been mentoring me, telling me that I have too much talent to let it go to waste,'' he said. "Where we are from, Miami, Fla., people rarely make it out. I'm one of the few to be able to say I was blessed to be drafted by the Cleveland Browns."

The relationship includes plenty of face time. "Yeah, we met up a lot,'' said Callaway. "I talk to him every other day. We work out, watch film."

When asked about his own football style, Callaway answers "Antonio Brown."

And his mindset?

"Don't let the man in front of me beat me,'' he said.

The dilute sample at the combine was a surprise to some, but Callaway takes responsibility.

"That was a wakeup call,'' he said. "But like I said, day by day, today I'm still getting better as a person, as a player, as a man.''

And as a father. Three months ago, Callaway's daughter, Aulani, was born. Between providing for Aulani and his mom and sisters, he knows he can't mess up.

"It's going to be easy because I've got a purpose now,'' he said. "I've got a daughter. Ain't nobody going to make sure she's taken care of, so I've got to do my job."

Besides, he has to repay Dorsey for taking a chance on him.

"This is just telling that he believes in me, that I can do the right things,'' he said. "Just not going let him down. For somebody to put their job on the line, I can't let him down.''

He agrees with Dorsey that poor life choices "caused me to fall a couple of rounds. I have learned from them, moved on and became a better person and learned from mistakes day by day. Taking it day by day still, growing and maturing."

Can he be trusted?

"Yes, sir,'' he said. "I was just young and immature, living in the moment. I've learned from my mistakes.''

In Stage One of the NFL's Substance Abuse Program because of the dilute sample, Callaway knows he has little margin for error.

"Yes, but I already know what I've got to do,'' he said. "I know I've got to provide, so I'm got to stay focused on my behalf.''

Given his talent and speed, Callaway can give Corey Coleman a run for his money.

"He is very, very fast - a fast man," Baker Mayfield said of Callaway. "He makes good plays on the ball. When you have a guy like that and you get chemistry down, then it's very dangerous. You can do a lot with that. He's a guy that I think can help us out."

If he can, there's somebody else he'd like to help: his mom.

"She's been through a lot, so I want to reward her with everything she's ever dreamed of,'' he said.