Grinder on the gridiron
This is the fourth in a series of six articles profiling the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame's Class of 2020. The ceremony was postponed last year due to COVID. CRANBERRY TWP — The summer of 2012 will always hold a special place in Don Barclay's memory.He had already starred on the football teams at Seneca Valley High School and West Virginia University as an offensive lineman. But he now found himself on a stage so many players can only dream of — fighting for a job at an NFL training camp.Barclay had gone undrafted, but was signed as a free agent by the Green Bay Packers.“I told my family I was just trying to make the practice squad. I just wanted to be part of the team,” said Barclay. “That training camp was just non-stop effort on my part. I gave everything I had to make it.”He did much more than make the practice squad. Barclay would go on to play in 65 NFL games with 25 starts over a six-year career with the Packers and Detroit Lions.He will be inducted into the SV Sports Hall of Fame Sept. 18.
As a youth, there was no indication that Barclay's future was on the gridiron.“I was a big baseball kid growing up,” he said. “I started playing football in the seventh grade, but was still playing baseball and basketball at that point, too.”His sophomore season on the gridiron (2004) coincided with Ron Butschle's first year as head coach of the Raiders.“My first practice, the coaches asked me where I wanted to play,” said Barclay. “I said tight end and outside linebacker.“They said, 'Yeah, get your hand in the dirt ... you're playing on the offensive line.'”The coaches knew Barclay had potential there. He was already 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds. It was near the end of his sophomore year that Barclay, a tackle, had a life-changing talk with Butschle.“He told me that he thought I had a future in football, but that I had to put the time in the weight room to get bigger and stronger,” he said. “At that point, I was only about 225 pounds.”Barclay's baseball and basketball days were over as he began to focus solely on football. He started to separate himself as a junior.“We really didn't have anyone who could rep with him because he was so dominant,” said former SV offensive line coach Jim Lucot. “He had to do a lot of the work on his own. He was very self-driven and matured tremendously.”
After Barclay's junior season, Division I scholarship offers began rolling in.North Carolina State was the first to offer, followed by Pittsburgh and West Virginia, along with a number of Mid-American Conference schools.“It was tough for me not to choose Pitt,” said Barclay. “I'm from here and (former Pitt quarterback) Kevan Smith was there and we were good friends.“But Pitt's program was down at that point. They were winning at West Virginia and the practices there were electric. Everything was so competitive. That did it for me.”Barclay started at left tackle his last three seasons in Morgantown. He was named first team All-Big East and fourth team All-America his senior year in 2011. During his five seasons, the Mountaineers compiled a 48-17 record and finished in the Top 25 rankings four times.And while in college, he met his wife, Brea, who was a student athletic trainer. In short, Morgantown was very good to him.“Football in college was much more team-oriented,” Barclay said. “In the NFL, you're trying to win, obviously, but for so many guys, the number one thing is just that they play well as individuals. You lose a game in college and you're down mentally for a whole week. It's something that you have to pick yourself up from.”
Several teams showed interest in obtaining Barclay following the 2012 NFL Draft, but he signed with Green Bay.“My agent said the Packers were a team that gave free agents a fair shake,” he said. “That was the best landing spot for me.”Barclay made the Packers' roster largely because he showed an ability to play both tackle and guard.Late in his rookie season, injuries on Green Bay's line thrust Barclay into the starting lineup for the final six games, including two playoff games.The next season, he started 14 games and seemed primed to be a key member of the Packers' front once again in 2014.Then came a practice in early August.“We were doing some 1-on-1 drills and my right knee buckled on me,” said Barclay, who had to be carted off the field with a torn ACL. He had surgery and his season was over.“Considering what I had done up to that point, that was the most disappointing thing about my career.”He saw action in every game in 2015, including five starts, but said he didn't feel completely healthy again until 2016.Unfortunately, injuries to his shoulder and ankle limited him to just 19 games, and two starts, for the Packers and Lions in 2016 -17.He was signed by New Orleans in 2018 and Denver in 2019, but never played in a game for either team.
Following the 2019 season, Barclay knew he had to make a difficult decision.“It was time for me to retire,” he said. “I did a lot of reflecting, there were some great memories and I hated to see it come to an end.“It was disappointing, but it wasn't all dark days at our house. I have a great wife and kids and they helped make it easier for me. There's never a dull day at our house.”Though Barclay was hoping for a longer professional career, he appreciates the opportunity he had.“Playing for Green Bay, there's so much history there,” he said. “It's one of the top franchises in the NFL, like the Steelers.“I got to play with some great players, some of them will end up in the Hall of Fame.”Most notably, quarterback Aaron Rodgers.“He's a perfectionist, very competitive, but doesn't take everything so seriously,” said Barclay. “He always had our backs, never threw his linemen under the bus. He was the first one to compliment you if you had a good game.”
While proud of what Barclay accomplished on the field, Lucot respects him even more for his actions off of it.“Back in April, my alma mater (Bishop Canevin) held a clinic for linemen. It was for kids in fifth through eighth grade,” he said. “It adds a lot more to a camp if you have a pro athlete show up and I asked Donny if he would come.“I told him he just had to show up at the beginning or end, stay for about 15 minutes. He stayed the whole time, was walking around talking with the kids, taking pictures with them.“For the father he is, the husband he is, the man he has become, I’m so proud of him.”Barclay is looking forward to returning to where his career as a lineman began to take shape.“Two of the most influential people for me at Seneca Valley were Ron Butschle and James Lucot,” he said. “They prepared me for the next level, but treated me like they did my teammates. They never showed favorites.“It’s going to be fun, to go back and reflect on it, I’m excited.”Don and Brea Barclay have three children — Cooper (7), Brynn (5) and Bella (1).
