Calland was born in Ohio, and moved with his family as a child to the Seattle, Washington area, where he attended school in a log cabin on Lopez Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; all of the other students were Native Americans. He attended Seattle's Broadway High School, where he played football under coach Gus Henderson; when Henderson became football coach at USC in 1919, Calland also enrolled. He lettered as a guard on the 1920 through 1922 teams, and in 1922 was named both team captain and most inspirational player on USC's first Rose Bowl team; he was named Player of the Game in the Trojans' 14–3 victory over Penn State. He also played basketball at USC.