By: BILL WAGNER (HometownAnnapolis.com) — This was the moment Devin Barclay dreamed about when he retired from professional soccer, enrolled at Ohio State University and joined the football team as an invited walk-on.

As darkness descended on Ohio Stadium and 105,455 scarlet and gray-clad fans looked on with nervous anticipation, Barclay trotted onto the field with an opportunity to beat Iowa by making a 39-yard field goal in overtime.

In just his second game as the team’s starting placekicker, the Annapolis native was being called upon to break a 24-24 tie and lift the host Buckeyes to their fifth straight Big Ten Championship.

Barclay, 26, calmly went through his routine - addressing the ball, slowly taking four steps back, swinging his right arm up and down to create a sight line, methodically moving sideways two paces to the left, then taking a deep breath while waiting for the snap.

Barclay then strode forward, took a nice easy swing and booted the ball through the uprights to seal a 27-24 victory and send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1996.

“Naturally, I was very nervous. At the same time, I was calm because I had always pictured myself in that position,” Barclay said. “I just told myself: This is what I came to Ohio State to do, to kick a game-winning field goal.”

As soon as the two officials under the goal posts raised their arms to signal the kick was good, Barclay ripped off his helmet and sprinted toward the sideline. While most kickers jump into the arms of their holder in such situations, Barclay resorted to instinct and reacted the way he always did after scoring a goal in soccer.

“I knew I hit it well and could tell it was going to go so I just took off running with my teammates chasing after me. Everybody teased me and said it was a soccer-style celebration,” Barclay said with a chuckle. “It was definitely an incredible experience, even better than I had imagined. I had been practicing three years for that moment. It felt so good to come through in the clutch for the team.”

Barclay’s journey from soccer phenom to starting kicker for one of college football’s perennial powerhouse programs is the stuff of storybooks.

At the age of 7, Barclay was prescribed Ritalin to help control his Attention Deficit Disorder. He stopped taking the drug as a freshman soccer standout at McDonogh High then dropped out of school following his sophomore season. Liz Barclay, a longtime educator and former admissions director at Indian Creek, home-schooled her son so he could earn a diploma.

Barclay was chosen to be part of Project 40, a collaboration between Major League Soccer and the United States National program to identify the best young American players. He signed with the Tampa Bay Mutiny at the age of 18 and enjoyed a superb rookie season, scoring three goals and dishing off two assists.

However, Barclay’s promising MLS career fizzled due to injuries and lack of opportunity. He was traded three times and appeared in just four games over two seasons with the Columbus Crew before being released at the tender age of 22.

It was Jim Schmidtke, who works for Athletes in Action and served as team chaplain for the Columbus Crew, who initially suggested Barclay try place-kicking. Schmidtke took the youngster to Olentangy Liberty High in Columbus and watched with amazement as he made 10 of 11 field goal attempts from 43 yards.

“I told Devin that with that type of kicking ability he could go to college wherever he wanted. I was thinking he could start right away at a place like Otterbein, but he wanted to play at Ohio State,” Schmidtke said.

As The Capital reported in a 2007 story about Barclay, Schmidtke introduced the novice kicker to a pair of former Ohio State kickers for further instruction. Vlade Janakievski and Dan Stultz taught Barclay the finer points of place-kicking as far as fundamentals and techniques.

“As soon as I saw Devin kick, I could tell he had that touch, that talent,” Janakievski said. “The ball sounds good when he hits it.”

Barclay impressed head coach Jim Tressel during a tryout and joined Ohio State…..

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