Video: Utah Freshman Lander Barton has his sights set on starting in 2022
As one of the highest-rated recruits in the history of the program, it was no surprise how quickly freshman linebacker Lander Barton was able to acclimate to Utah's system and run with the ones during spring camp. Now, looking ahead to the season and with a stacked room to compete against, Barton is focused on starting for the 2022 campaign.
Choosing to enroll early, Barton took full advantage of spring ball in order to learn the playbook and adjust to the college level. Very quickly, Barton was running alongside Karene Reid with the ones which gave him a huge advantage coming into fall.
"Spring ball was awesome. Especially, for me and Justin [Medlock], whoever came in early because we were able to get our foot in the door, learn the defense early, and even for the offensive guys. It's an opportunity to learn, where things are not as serious, so coming into fall camp has really been a huge help," Barton explained.
"[Running with the ones] really helped me get used to the speed of things. From high school to running with the ones in college is different, I am not going to lie. So that was a huge help, just getting up to speed. So I just had to make that transition and roll with it," He added.
Now transitioning to fall camp, it's a different ball game. It's no longer just about acclimating to the college level and trying to learn the playbook, but competing for a starting spot on day one. While the room was already incredibly stacked with young talent, fall has introduced a new face to the room in senior Florida-transfer Mohamoud Diabate. Even though the two will undoubtedly go head-to-head in a battle for the starting position, Diabate has been busy mentoring Barton in just a short time.
"He's tells me a lot of things. We'll just be sitting in the locker room and he just knows so much about the game because he's been around it for so long. He's just such a smart player. There's certain situations where a lineman comes to you and they do a certain thing, [he shares] what you can do to get around that. It's just been great having him in the room," Barton explained.
As previously mentioned, the linebacker group is incredibly talented. In addition to Barton, Reid and Diabate, guys like Justin Medlock, Hayden Furey, Andrew Mata'afa, the Calvert brothers and Mason Tufaga add incredible depth. For a room that recently produced a first-round pick and will need to replace him, Barton is confident in their abilities and believes they'll surprise people.
“We have a pretty solid room. I think we can surprise people this year. It’s a lot of young guys and a couple vets but I feel like we have a really good room this year.”
Despite all that talent, Barton has set his sights on starting week one. While it will certainly be a challenge, especially as he faces some of the more experienced talent in the room, Barton feels confident in his ability as long as he continues along his current path.
"That's what I am shooting for," Barton said. "That's the ultimate goal. I think I can reach it by just continuing to do what I am doing, showing up every day, studying film, working hard, running to the ball, and trying to make plays."
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