The Gators hosted several 2026 prospects for the second straight weekend of junior days with the dead period quickly approaching in February. With the offensive line looking to be a big priority for the Gators in the 2026 class, Gator Country caught up with four-star offensive lineman Chancellor Barclay to discuss his visit to Florida on Saturday.
“I think the player panel. Learning about the team and how everything is going. How they started rough and going into next year strong,” Barclay said on what he enjoyed the most this weekend. “Now they are building a new team and have a bunch of freshman and new recruits coming. Just to be able to have this faith in the lord and have a good chance going into next season. There are great expectations for this team, and I was glad to learn about some of the things they are going through right now.”
The player panel clearly meant a lot to the Orlando native. Brotherhood and faith are important to the First Academy offensive lineman and that’s exactly what he saw this weekend during Florida’s player panel.
“You got Jalen Wiggins, Caleb Banks, Hylton Stubbs and a redshirt junior,” Barclay said on who spoke at the player panel. “It was a diverse group and I think that’s what’s good about the player panel. Just explaining what they’re going through as freshmen and how they feel as a senior since this is their last year, along with the expectations and what they are going through and giving the idea of how they got there, especially at the University of Florida.”
Florida was always a top school for the 6-3.5, 285 offensive lineman. The trajectory and expectations in the building have Barclay excited about the future in Gainesville.
“Florida was always a top school for me, and Florida is still a top school for me. I’ll say one thing I learned about is how these players use faith and brotherhood to be able to grind out their first seasons. The player panel is something that I thought was just a thing. I was a little immature but now that I’m more mature going into my senior season, I think the player panel is probably one of the things where you learn about Florida the most out of anything, through the players that are there. I think one thing I learned is how tight of a brotherhood Florida has. Even Coach Napier was also explaining that it wasn’t really him, it was the players that were able to grind it out and finish strong. I think with that mindset Florida has a really good chance of making a really good name for themselves and getting back to where they were years ago.”
The four-star prospect looks to be taking his time with his recruitment and doesn’t want to be rushed by any team to make a decision. Barclay’s top 10 looks to be narrowed down in the future with more visits to be set after the dead period.