By MATT MARKEY (ToledoBlade.com) –

COLUMBUS – Prior to the final month of the 2009 football season, Devin Barclay wandered the Ohio State sideline, virtually unknown and untested. The former pro soccer player was the Buckeyes’ backup kicker, which does not usually bring a lot of notoriety. A serious knee injury to starter Aaron Pettrey in a lopsided win over New Mexico State vaulted Barclay onto the field and into the spotlight.

Two weeks later Barclay would kick 39-yard field goal in overtime that gave Ohio State a critical 27-24 win over Iowa, clinching the outright Big Ten title for the Buckeyes. The Annapolis native, who turned pro at 17 and saw injuries bring an end to his soccer career at age 22, finished last season as OSU’s lead kicker and had field goals of 19, 30, and 38 yards in the Rose Bowl win over Oregon. With Pettrey graduated and gone, the kicking job for 2010 would appear to belong to Barclay. But a shaky performance in Ohio State’s spring football kick scrimmage Saturday has left Barclay less certain about that and possibly feeling the pressure of competition from sophomore Ben Buchanan and incoming freshman Drew Basil.

“There were some positives and some negatives, but on a personal note, I have to continue to get better,” Barclay said after the special teams-oriented session inside Ohio Stadium. Barclay (5-10, 204) went just 8-of-15 on field goals in the scrimmage with his longest kick coming from 43 yards out. The majority of his missed kicks were from long-range.

“I’m continuing to work on my field goals outside 45 yards,” Barclay said. “That’s an area where prescription medications I need to improve on. Inside the 45, I feel pretty confident. Outside of 45, I have to continue working on my swing.”

After five seasons in pro soccer Barclay practiced his football kicks at a Columbus area high school, enrolled at an Ohio State branch, and then joined the Buckeyes’ as a walk-on in 2008. The former national high school player of the year and soccer All-American is 27 years old. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who had former professional rugby player Ryan Pretorius from South Africa as his place-kicker in 2007 and ’08, welcomed Barclay to compete for a job on the team.

“You never have enough kickers,” Tressel said.

With that in mind, Barclay enters his senior season being pushed for the job by Buchanan and Basil. Buchanan (6-0, 195) is a sophomore from nearby Westerville who was a three-time, first team all-Ohio choice who set state records with five field goals in one game and with a 54-yarder his junior year. A dual-role player, Buchanan is expected to be Ohio State’s starting punter in the fall following the graduation of Jon Thoma.

Buchanan averaged 42.8 yards on four punts last season, and after hitting 8-of-14 of his field goal tries in the scrimmage, Buchanan said he would not flinch at taking on both the punting and kicking chores for the Buckeyes this fall. “That would be a thrill,” Buchanan said about possibly handling two special teams roles.

“I just want to be out there doing one of them, and helping us win a national championship.” Basil (6-2, 190) is a recent recruit who enrolled at Ohio State this quarter and is taking part in spring workouts. The Chillicothe product who hit a 47-yarder in high school was 1-of-4 on field goals in the scrimmage.

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