Lander Barton, LB, Utah
Size:
Height: 6’4” | Weight: 236 lbs
Accomplishments:
Player of the Year (2022) • Four-star recruit
“Lander Barton flies around the field from each linebacker spot, is a great athlete, and is a top coverage playmaker. If he isn’t making a play, he’s setting someone else up to make one.”
Strengths:
Coverage ability
Play recognition
Tackling
Athlete
Smooth transitional movement
Concerns:
Vertical anchor
Pursuit angles
Hesitation
Film Analysis:
Lander Barton is a legacy athlete at Utah. His parents, Mikki and Paul Barton, were previous two-sport athletes. His siblings, Cody, Jackson, and Dani Barton, all played collegiate sports at Utah. Barton had many options as a four-star recruit but wanted to continue the tradition. The University of Utah is happy he did.
Barton burst onto the scene as a freshman, playing all 14 games for the Utes with three starts. He piled up 46 tackles, including eight for loss, four and a half sacks, a forced fumble, a recovery, and one pass breakup. Barton then took over as a starter in his sophomore season, starting the first seven games before suffering a season-ending injury against USC. His 2023 was very different from his freshman year, where he was let loose upon offenses; Barton had half a tackle for loss and no sacks but added three passes defended and two interceptions to go with a forced fumble. Now fully recovered, Barton looks to live up to being named on the Butkus Award Watchlist for the nation’s top linebacker.
Barton has an excellent feel for the field; his lateral agility allows easy access to all possible rush lanes. Quickly identifying where the football is, Barton diagnoses run plays and is gap-sound in his approach to the offensive line. His athletic ability shows up in many places, but when engaged with run blockers, he does a great job of angling his body to avoid the block while extending his arms to shed. Willing to meet pullers in gaps, Barton comes downhill with the power to stack and shed. When given outside responsibility, he understands how to set the edge and force the ball carrier back inside.
Barton is such a smooth mover in space. He seamlessly pairs his transitions with his eyes to follow the quarterback's intentions and route concept. He gets proper depth in zone coverage and executes pass-offs to other zones so that he does not leave his responsibility. Barton has the reactive athleticism to turn and run with play-action passes and pursue the football after it leaves the quarterback's hands. He has the requisite play strength and coverage instincts to carry tight ends up the field or in man coverage.
Barton has limited experience as a starter, and while the talent and instincts are all there, getting those reps will be essential for development in his junior year. He tends to hesitate a half-second triggering on run plays when he recognizes it. Barton gets out of most head-on blocks, but when offensive linemen square him up, they will displace him vertically. Developing more vertical anchor will help him in that regard. He’s an excellent tackler in a phone booth and coverage, but sometimes his pursuit angle needs to be altered mid-pursuit, or it’s wrong, and he’s late to the ball-carrier.
Barton has few weaknesses in his game, and he’ll iron those out with more game reps. The football IQ, coverage ability, and athleticism in Barton’s game can take him to great heights in college football.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Winning Starter
Written By: Daniel Harms
