The University of Utah football team received some welcome news on Wednesday night with a commitment from 4-Star legacy recruit, Lander Barton.

The 6-foot-2 and 220 pound Barton will be the sixth member of his immediate family to play sports at the University of Utah. He’ll follow in the footsteps of his father Paul (football and baseball), mother Mikki Kane-Barton (basketball and volleyball), Jackson and Cody (football), and sister Dani Drew’s (volleyball). Additionally, his uncle Mark played football for the Utes. Both women in the family can lay claim to being two of the greatest women athletes to ever play at Utah.

Not one for the limelight, Lander had his sister Dani break his commitment on Instagram with a series of pictures and the last one being his commitment news.

Barton is the no. 22 rated outside linebacker by Rivals and no. 2 prospect in the state of Utah. He took official visits to Utah, Michigan, and Texas. Despite coming from a long line of Utes, the Longhorns gave Barton a lot to think about.

What Utah is getting

Utah will be looking to replace All-American linebacker Devin Lloyd who is well on his way to being an early round NFL Draft pick. Barton is viewed as an immediate impact talent and the coaching staff sees a lot of comparisons to both him and Lloyd’s games.

Barton has superior sideline to sideline instincts. He can drop into coverage or find his way into the backfield with ease. He also shows a high football IQ, putting him in the right spots. He comes from a sports pedigree that says he should be able to have a significant role, right away. As talented as his brothers Jackson and Cody are, as both made the NFL, it’s either Lander or Dani that everyone talks about when discussing the most talented of the Barton family.

He’ll join a talented linebacker room, but it’s fully anticipated that he’ll see a significant and impactful role as soon as 2022.

What this means for the class

Barton is the eighth commit in the Utes 2022 class joining: Tao Johnson, Chris Reed, Sione Motuapuaka, Jaylon Glover, Jeffrey Ugo, Brandon Rose, and Nate Johnson. He joins Glover as the Utes two 4-Star commits and he’s one of two commits for the defense.

With Barton’s commitment in place, an additional local recruit to now keep an eye on will be Park City’s Carson Tabaracci.