NOTE: This story originally appeared in the Lafayette vs. Fordham football game day program.

All Gavin Barclay wanted when he decided to come to Lafayette College was play football and become a dentist.

The fifth-year senior is well on his way to a career in the dental field. When he leaves campus with his biology degree in the spring, he also may take the Leopards' football program record for consecutive games played.

Barclay has played in 40 consecutive games after helping Lafayette knock off Penn last Saturday for its first victory of the fall 2021 season.

The 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive tackle has earned several football accolades and his 4.0 GPA last spring was indicative of his academic achievements.

But the York native's biggest accomplishment at Lafayette may be his ability to talk.

"Our offensive line goes out to the Nazareth diner, or a Chinese buffet and he is always talking to every single person about something," fellow lineman Joe Grundhoffer said. "He can talk to anyone and have a meaningful conversation.

"He knows a little bit about a lot."

Barclay's conversational wizardry first became evident at Lafayette when he met his peer mentor, former Lafayette women's basketball player Anna Ptasinski.

The two hit it off so well, that Ptasinski could no longer be his peer mentor. The two started to date, and now have an April 22, 2023, wedding date in Ptasinski's hometown in Colorado.

"Anna went in, told them she had to drop me as her mentee and we went from there," Barclay said. "You can't date your mentee.

"It's funny how everything worked out."

Ptasinski is in medical school after earning her Lafayette degree and putting her name in the women's basketball record book. She is third in the program's list of three-pointers made and three-point field goal percentage.

Barclay did not let true love stop him from excelling in other areas during his freshman season in 2017. He earned a starting spot at left guard in the season opener. He played there three games before shifting to right tackle – where he has played most of his career.

"I've played every position on the line except center," Barclay said, "and I'm trying to do that once."

Barclay has a family history in college athletics. His father, Pete, played football at Princeton. His mother, Kate, was a rower at Princeton. His younger brother, Garth, is a freshman offensive lineman at Syracuse.

The soon-to-be 23-year-old Barclay played lacrosse, track & field and football in high school. The two-time all-York Interscholastic Athletic Association First-Team lineman knew he wanted to play football in college, but never felt pressure to follow in his parents' footsteps.

"They always said they would support me if I wanted to go that route (to Princeton)," he said, "but there was never pressure to be a legacy.

"They always said they would hang up the (Princeton) orange and black for my time to be a Leopard."

Barclay received one other offer (Lehigh) and got serious looks from most other Patriot League schools, several Ivy League schools plus Syracuse and Vanderbilt.

The Barclay family discussions helped spawn Gavin's ability to talk to anyone about anything. Questions were encouraged in the house – he also has an older sister Hannah, who went to the University of Oklahoma.

"If my parents didn't have the answers, we were encouraged to look it up," Barclay said. "With three kids, you get a lot of different interests. I would hear my sister and her friends talk and my brother and his friends.

"I like to be as informed as possible. We always watched 'Jeopardy' growing up. I don't know if that contributed to the knowledge, but we did watch it before dinner every night and tried to play like the contestants would."

Barclay started all 11 games in 2018 at right tackle. He was part of an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks and fewest tackles for loss in the Patriot League.

It also was that year when he served as host for Grundhoffer's official visit. Grundhoffer knew he wanted to come to Lafayette, but his conversations with Barclay cemented things.

The Civil Engineering major had questions and observations that weekend. Barclay had all the answers and the ability to keep the conversation going.

"Gavin was so good at answering all my questions," the Wisconsin native said. "He is one of the most personable people I know. He can talk to anyone. It confirmed my decision, having Gavin as a host."

Grundhoffer became a full-time starter in 2019. Barclay started every game again, 10 at right tackle and two at left tackle. He earned All-Patriot League Second-Team honors and was named to the league's Academic Honor roll with a 3.5 GPA.

Barclay recognizes his good fortune has allowed him to stay healthy enough to play in every Lafayette game since he came to campus. He also has put himself in the best position to start all those contests and be mentally strong enough to push through the minor injuries that all football players have.

"You can really count on him," Grundhoffer said. "He's durable. There are times when everyone tweaks something, hurts an ankle. But he has always fought through it. He never says, 'I don't know if I can do it.' He just always plays and does his best."

Offensive line coach Christian Pace sees something special in Barclay's durability.

"His durability is obviously very impressive," Pace said. "He has played through some nagging injuries throughout his career, and he has done so at a high level. He has been nagging me to play center just once. That's a position you can't really mess with — just throwing a guy in there. If an opportunity were to come up, maybe. But right now it's not in the cards. He's definitely pushing for it, but more in a humorous way."

Barclay earned All-Patriot League Second-Team honors again in the abbreviated spring 2021 season and put together a 4.0 GPA.

The York Suburban High School graduate was a fall 2021 All-Patriot League preseason pick and voted as a captain of coach John Garrett's Leopards.

His decision to come back for a fifth season as a COVID-eligible student-athlete was an easy one. He is working on earning his minor and applying to dental schools after passing his DATs (Dental education Admission Tests) last spring.

There are a lot of medical field connections.

Ptasinski is in medical school at Penn State Hershey. Barclay's grandfather was an internal medical doctor. His father is a cardiologist. His uncle is a dentist whom he shadowed to help solidify his decision.

For now, though, Barclay is focusing on leaving a legacy in the Lafayette football program.

"The big thing is when I decided to come back," he said, "I want to be here to pass the torch. When I make a commitment, I'm here for the long run. I really think we have something good going on here and I want to see it moving forward."

Grundhoffer said Barclay's leadership is evident in every facet of his college life.

"He's a fantastic teammate," Grundhoffer said. He's a great leader, on and off the field in every aspect. He's one of the nicest guys I know. He's caring. He will help you if you don't know what's going on."

For all that he has going for him, Barclay doesn't walk around with any sort of an ego.

"He's as humble of a person as you will come across for someone who has accomplished what he has accomplished," Pace added. "He just shows up, does his work, isn't flashy.

"But people respect him for what he's done, and he has earned that respect being a captain. That's a big deal. He definitely represents the team and the offensive line the right way."

Barclay did his part to help Lafayette rally past Penn last Saturday, which in turn made his parents very happy.

After all, nothing makes Princeton graduates happier than when Penn loses.

And when the Barclays see their son turn out to be a winner in all aspects of his life.