Editorβs note: The Star is counting down the 22 best high school football players in Southern Arizona, in no particular order.
Name: Elijah Barclay
The rundown: Barclay is a 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound junior wide receiver at Salpointe Catholic High School.
Who he is: Before arriving in Tucson this summer, Barclay attended California powerhouse Mater Dei and spent his free time at the beach.
Barclayβs mother lives in Newport Beach, while his father resides in nearby Dana Point. When Barclay wasnβt training for football, he body-surfed with his buddies.
He has since traded palm trees for saguaros.
Californiaβs decision to delay high school football season until January and personal issues in California prompted Barclay to relocate. He is now living with family friends that have known the Barclays since Elijah was a baby.
βItβs just a restart,β Barclay said. βItβs kind of like a new chapter. I like living here, even though itβs really hot.β
Barclay will be looked at to be one of Salpointe Catholicβs top playmakers on offense after the Lancers lost All-America running back Bijan Robinson, two-way star Lathan Ransom, tight end Jackson Sumlin, wide receiver Dae Han Chang, tight end Connor Witthoft and wide receiver Coben Bourguet to graduation.
In his first game as a Lancer, Barclay hauled in four catches for 82 yards as Salpointe Catholic beat Casa Grande. His connection with quarterback Treyson Bourguet, an Arizona commit, was apparent.
βItβll help us win games,β Barclay said. βHopefully we can play together in college, because we already have a connection as quarterback-wide receiver and as friends.β
Barclay could become Bourguetβs favorite target. Salpointe Catholic (1-0) is scheduled to return from its two-week coronavirus quarantine next week; the Lancers will take on Sierra Vista Buena on Oct. 23.
βItβs always hard when you have a transfer, and I think whatβs special about Elijah is heβs a great teammate. β¦ He doesnβt say a whole lot, but he leads by example,β said first-year Salpointe Catholic coach Eric Rogers. βHe goes after it and does whatever is asked of him, whether itβs offense, defense, special teams; whatever the team needs, heβs there to do it.β
Proof he’s good: Barclay is rated by 247Sports.com as a three-star prospect. He holds scholarship offers from Purdue, TCU and Illinois State.
βNot put any pressure on him, but if the University of Arizona was interested in him, I think thatβd be a great spot for him,β Rogers said. βBut if ASU came calling, Iβm sure heβd consider that. β¦ Heβs going to have some more offers when itβs all said and done.β
He said it: βHe brings another dimension to our offense in the sense that he can really spread the field. Heβs got tremendous speed, great hands and we have to take advantage of that. We have to make the other team defend the whole field and him running deep routes. β¦
βIn a lot of ways, and I hate to compare him to this, but he is kind of like a Jerry Rice. The way he runs is effortless, and heβs just very, very smooth. You donβt realize how fast he is until heβs by you, and youβre like, βWhoa, how did that just happen?βββ β Rogers
