The real story of how a Davidson football player went viral with his fake NFL Draft post

Before J.J. Watt and Drew Brees discovered him, before he thanked Oprah Winfrey and Winston Churchill, before his social media post declaring himself eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft was viewed nearly 10 million times, Barclay Briggs was an obscure backup center at Davidson College.

More precisely, Briggs was an obscure backup center who was very smart and had a wicked sense of humor. In reality, he knew there was no chance that he would ever make the NFL — he only started three games in his career for the non-scholarship Davidson Wildcats.

But, he thought:

What if?

What if someone like him made a pompous declaration for the NFL Draft, mimicking some of the oh-so-serious posts that future first-round draft choices always make? What if he used the #RespectMyDecision hashtag that was so common in such posts? What if he got his good buddy, who was great with graphics, to design it?

“A lot of times, I think offensive linemen generally were the heavy kids growing up,” Briggs said. “And the fat kid’s gotta be funny, right? In every movie, the fat kid is the funny one. So I just thought this would be funny, to a few people around the Davidson community.”

Instead, Briggs’ Nov. 21 post went viral. It has more than 9.6 million views so far. Here’s the story behind it.

With a photo of Briggs sporting a ludicrous, Hulk Hogan-esque mustache he only kept for two days during his junior year, the post read:

“Over the last 4 years, I have had the incredible opportunity to serve diligently as a career backup offensive lineman here at Davidson College. While I only played during blowouts or when starters got injured, I refused to let that stop me from being a scrappy, sneaky athletic, fundamental, high-IQ lunch pail guy.

“There are countless people who I have to thank for making my dream of playing Division I football a reality, but I especially want to express my gratitude to my coaches, Oprah Winfrey, my teammates, Winston Churchill, my friends and all those who have supported me through this journey.

“With that being said, I will be foregoing my remaining eligibility to enter my name into the 2024 NFL Draft.

“Many of you may ask yourselves, ‘If he barely saw playing time at a non-scholarship FCS program, why does this guy think he has any chance in the NFL?’ This is an entirely reasonable reaction, and I don’t blame any of you for thinking this. I will provide roughly zero on-field value for an NFL franchise, but I’d probably be pretty fun to have around.

“Thank you, Davidson Football. It has been an honor, and I’ll forever be a Wildcat.”

Zero on-field value

A few of the lines in particular — providing “roughly zero on-field value” was at the top of this pile — started to bounce around the Internet, as did the post itself.

“Legendary!” wrote Brees, the former New Orleans Saints quarterback.

“This is gold,” wrote retired defensive end Watt.

“That was the greatest thing ever,” Briggs said, given that Watt is a football demigod in Houston, where Briggs was born and raised.

Briggs also used a Bible verse in his post, which is routine in real NFL Draft declarations. It contained a hidden joke, too.

Acts 2:15, in the Bible’s New International Version, reads: “These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!”

Some people believed this was Briggs subtly telling people he stayed drunk. That was a misinterpretation, Briggs said.

In the Bible, the verse comes when Peter is answering an incorrect charge that the followers of Jesus are drunk. In fact, they are filled with the Holy Spirit at the time and speaking in foreign languages. Briggs meant he was sober when he wrote the post.

“I used that because I just wanted everyone to know I was of completely sound mind when I did this,” Briggs said, “no matter how it looked.”

If it wasn’t completely clear the post was fake, Briggs gave his biggest hint by thanking Churchill and Winfrey. He wanted to make sure people knew he was joking rather than deluded about his limited football potential.

“I figured what better way to do that than by thanking two people who had nothing to do with my football career,” Briggs said, “one of whom died 60 years ago.”

‘The funniest person I know’

The post was designed by Coy Williams, a former Davidson football star himself who is now a Davidson assistant coach.

“Barclay is the funniest person I know,” said Williams, who was tagged on the post by Briggs, which ended up shorting out Williams’ phone. “He had mentioned this in the spring — ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if I did a fake draft declaration?’ — and I had said, ‘Yeah, hilarious,” and totally forgotten about it.

“Then Barclay walked in my office a month ago and said, ‘Let’s knock this out.’ He already had the words. We found the most ridiculous pictures of him that we could, and tried to make it look very official. The whole thing took 30 minutes. I thought it might get a hundred likes. The next day it had 4.5 million interactions, and my phone glitched out.”

Briggs hasn’t posted on X (formerly Twitter) in the month since. No exulting. No sequels.

“I didn’t amend my statement or anything like that,” Briggs said. “I just let the invisible hand of the free market do its thing.”

Davidson football coach Scott Abell, not one for micromanaging, pre-approved the post.

“Barclay is a role model for us, and I’ve been calling him the most interesting man in our locker room for years,” Abell said. “He has a bigger-than-life personality, is kind to everybody and has a blue-collar mentality.”

Briggs has gone on Christian mission trips at Davidson and led the school’s Fish and Wildlife club. He also entered the “Big Splash” contest at the Davidson football party. Briggs didn’t win, but “should have won for showmanship,” Abell said.

On campus, Briggs sometimes wears a pair of stonewashed blue jorts he bought at a thrift shop.

“And those jorts,” Williams said, “are at least two sizes too small.”

Briggs is also not that great at football, a fact he cheerfully admits. He mostly blocked on special teams during his Davidson career.

“I’m a mediocre college player,” Briggs said.

“A program guy,” Abell said. “And that’s a compliment.”

Sacrifice, pain and a sense of humor

After majoring in economics at Davidson, Briggs has a job awaiting him in Houston at a commodities trading firm in May, after he graduates. The social media post is destined to be a footnote in his life, not the main event.

But he joins a number of offensive linemen who have made people laugh over the years. Former Panthers center Ryan Kalil once filmed a hilarious draft video with comedian Will Ferrell. Former Panthers Pro Bowl tackle Jordan Gross, at his retirement news conference, skipped traditional platitudes and told self-deprecating stories about a series of pictures.

Why are anonymous offensive linemen often funny?

“The role of an offensive lineman is filled with sacrifice, pain and low levels of praise,” Gross said in a phone interview from Idaho. Gross has never met Briggs, but game recognizes game.

“You either end up just being angry or funny, because you’re just dealing with discomfort all the time. It’s not sexy. You never score. So you can either be miserable, or you can make light of the situation and make fun of yourself, which was my preferred way to do it and it looks like it’s that way for Barclay Briggs, too.

“I made a lot of money doing it and got some pretty high accolades,” Gross continued. “Barclay was a backup center at a non-scholarship program, and yet he was able to give himself this incredible sendoff. There’s a lot of self-awareness there, and a lot of smarts.

“Really, the whole thing was genius.”