Lofty expectations come with the territory at Utah when your last name is Barton. Lander Barton sees constant reminders of his family’s successful legacy with the Utes.
Paul Barton, his father, played both football and baseball, before being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Mikki Kane-Barton, his mother, was a two-time All-American in basketball while also lettering in volleyball.
Mikki is a member of the Crimson Club Hall of Fame and arguably is the greatest female athlete to ever play for Utah. Although, her daughter can also stake a claim for that greatest ever status. Dani became a four-time All-American in volleyball and member of the US National team.
The Barton women can easily lay claim to being the best athletes in the family. Still, the Barton men have also done well in making a name for themselves. Jackson and Cody were both standouts for the Utes on the football field and both continued their careers in the NFL. Cody was a third-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks and Jackson went to the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs in his second NFL season. Cody became a starter for Seattle in his second season.
Even with everything his parents and siblings accomplished before him, Lander could be destined to claim the family crown as best athlete. The true freshman respectfully deflects such talk of his potential for the moment.
“I’m going to stay humble and say, my sister (is the best Barton), she can jump pretty high,” Lander said. “I’m going to give it to her this time, my sister or my mom, but I've never seen my mom play so I can’t say. I’m talking about what people have told me, so, probably my sister.”
Hype has built around Lander for many years. There have been whispers and opinions that the family has been saving their best for last. As a high school senior, he’d go on to be a High School All-American and named to the US Army All-American Bowl. Barton finished in the Rivals.com rankings at no. 96 overall and the no. 7 ranked outside linebacker.
After arriving at the University of Utah early for spring ball, he’s been a standout, all while remaining humble.
“It’s a great opportunity to come in here, the last two backers taking off to the draft, getting to make a lot of money. It’s a great opportunity, great competition in the room,” Barton said. “We’re all pushing each other to get better because at the end of the day it’s two open spots. I don’t want to say who’s getting those two spots, the best two will get it, whoever produces the most on the field. It’s just great competition and a great group of guys.”
Arriving on campus early gave Barton a great advantage. He earned valuable additional time to absorb the defensive schemes and philosophies he needs to hit the ground running as a linebacker.
“I’ve definitely gained a lot of knowledge with the playbook, and knowing alignments, all the X and O’s stuff, feel like I’m picking well on that,” Barton said. “Also, kind of picking up with the speed of players in college—high school is not great—it’s faster. People are stronger and faster here. It took a few days to adjust to that in practice, but I feel I’m finally adjusting to that, starting to get my feet under me.”
The linebacker room has a challenging task ahead of them, replacing two standouts at the position.
“It’s been fun, and it’s been good for all of us, having that healthy competition,” Barton said. “It’s making each other push ourselves to be better. I feel like any team and any position group would want that competition because that’s going to force the best performance out of each layer.”
Fortunately for Barton, he’s had a chance to soak up knowledge and train with former Ute All-American and current Jacksonville Jaguar Devin Lloyd for a while.
“Devin I have more of a personal relationship with,” Barton said. “I’ve spent time working with him in the offseason, Nephi not as much, he came in and gave us great advice, I think the week of the Pro week. He came in a couple days before and talked to the whole linebacker group as a whole and told us, ‘Be the smartest man in the room, be the smartest man on the field’. As a linebacker we have to know the whole defense, we have to know the run fits the coverages, the lineman, we have to know everything,”
During the spring, Barton was able to occasionally pick Lloyd’s brain for some advice.
“I would ask him for advice If something came up within the plays,” Barton said. “I would step to the side and ask him advice and he’d help me right then and there. I was able to see his work ethic too, in the off season working out with him, a great worker, sets a high bar standard for what you need to do to be the best.”
With less than a month left before the season, Barton finds himself in the thick of a starting competition. At minimum, he’ll be a crucial piece to the Utah linebacker two-deep rotation. It’s a stacked room, led by one of the best linebacker coaches in the country in Colton Swan.
“When (Swan) pushes you hard and expects a lot that’s what makes great players, being uncomfortable and having to make tough decisions quickly,” Barton said. “It’s been great playing for him.”
Confident like Cody. Humble like Jackson. Have the Bartons saved the best for last? Only time will tell.
“It’s really an honor, from what my parents started to now,” Lander said. “There are a lot of expectations, but I like that because I want to meet and exceed those expectations. It’s an honor and a challenge that I accept.”
