-
David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
The hottest NFL draft prospect — at least on social media — is a 280-pound backup center from a non-scholarship FCS school.
Davidson Wildcats‘ lineman Barclay Briggs hasn’t gotten any calls from agents or scouts, but his social media post on Tuesday has been viewed more than five million times and earned him his rightful place in college football lore as perhaps the most ambitious — if not accomplished — athlete in the 2023 draft class.
Briggs, a senior from Houston, Texas, made a post on X on Tuesday declaring his intent to forego his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft, despite the small fact that he “only played in blowouts and or when starters got injured.” The post quickly became a favorite of fans, media and even one of his idols, J.J. Watt.
Acts 2:15 #RespectMyDecision pic.twitter.com/j408iIR9Ws
— Barclay Briggs (@bbriggs2016) November 21, 2023
“I flew home for Thanksgiving [on Tuesday] afternoon,” Briggs told ESPN. “When I took off, it had a couple thousand interactions. A fair number of people had retweeted it. But by the time I landed, I opened my phone and had a bunch of notifications telling me that it’s crazy on Twitter. That’s when I knew, this might go somewhere.”
Briggs said the idea for the post began during spring practice earlier this year. The Davidson O-line is an entertaining group. The group got to talking about how funny it might be for, as Briggs put it, “a no-name, low-level prospect made a big, elaborate draft declaration.”
When Davidson’s season ended last weekend, Briggs decided it was time. In the span of about 90 minutes on Monday, he scripted out this statement: “I will provide roughly zero on-field value for an NFL franchise, but I’d probably be pretty fun to have around,” he wrote. Briggs then emailed it to one of his coaches, Coy Williams, who created the graphic.
A day after the post hit cyberspace, Briggs’ social media stardom has far outpaced his football success.
After high school, Briggs said he wanted to play college football at a high level without sacrificing academics. Davidson, located outside Charlotte, North Carolina, provided a perfect landing spot. As a freshman, he was undersized for the offensive line, so coaches attempted a position switch to defensive tackle.
“I was abysmal,” Briggs said. “I could not have been a worse defensive tackle.”
So, back to O-line he went, this time as a center.
His bio on Davidson’s website details his career in a particularly concise fashion:
2020-21: Saw action in the road win at Stetson
2021: Did not see action
2022: Appeared against Drake
Briggs says he did get on the field “when the starters got hurt,” which led to a few hundred snaps at center this season.
The 275-pounder admits in his post that he offers little on-field value but is sure he would add abundant optimism, humor and possibly an exceptional mustache to any locker room. He could also be a faith leader on a team, captioning his post with Acts 2:15 — a Bible verse that may offer some clarity on his state of mind when posting his announcement. It reads: “These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that.”
Despite his sudden star turn, Briggs was quick to thank the people who’ve helped shape his career: His family, coaches and teammates, along with Oprah Winfrey and Winston Churchill.
He neglected to offer a nod to Watt — one of his favorite players growing up in Texas — but that didn’t stop the former NFL superstar from declaring Briggs’ announcement as “gold.”
This is gold.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) November 22, 2023
“It’s pretty awesome,” Briggs said. “I grew up in Houston as a Texans fan, and like everybody else in Houston, I love J.J. Watt. So that was incredible when I saw his retweet. That’s the icing on the cake of this whole situation was J.J.’s endorsement.”
While Briggs’ NFL dream did not extend beyond his announcement, he’ll still land on his feet after college. He’s set to graduate in May, and he’s already accepted a job with a commodities trading firm in Houston.
