By: Steven Goff (Washington Post) -

COLUMBUS, OHIO - The second calling in Devin Barclay’s athletic career, as the near-perfect place kicker for the second-ranked college football team in the country, came in 2006 when a chaplain introduced him to a delicatessen owner at a strip mall one mile west of Ohio Stadium.

Barclay was 22, his life in soccer stalled by injuries and unmet expectations. Consumed by the sport since his childhood in Annapolis, he had come from the golden generation that turned out future U.S. World Cup performers Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu. But after representing his country at the junior levels and ricocheting around MLS for five seasons - including a stint with D.C. United - he had come to terms with his plight.

The Columbus Crew had been the last - and longest - of his four stops. He felt at home here and owned a condominium in the restored Brewery District along the Scioto River.

“When I signed with MLS, I didn’t think I would ever go to college,” Barclay said last week. “But once soccer ended, it started to make sense.”

He never intended to play football for Ohio State; he just wanted to earn a degree after skipping college to sign with MLS. His sturdy right leg, though, remained athletically valuable.

Encouraged by his Bible-study leader and mentored by two former Buckeyes - one who now makes irresistible sandwiches, the other who runs an electrical-supply business - Barclay transitioned from kicking soccer balls to footballs. He has climbed to the top of the depth chart, and as a 27-year-old senior is among the nation’s most productive kickers, successful on 10 of 11 field goals and all 27 extra-point attempts…..

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