Lander Barton

Lander Barton was a four-star recruit out of Brighton High School in Utah where he excelled at both basketball and football during his time there. He averaged 19.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game as a junior, and was named second-team all-state. He played both linebacker and wide receiver at football and was named a High School All-American, and invited to the All-American Bowl. At wide receiver in his career, he hauled in 81 passes for 909 yards and 16 touchdowns. At linebacker, he totaled over 100 tackles each of his last three seasons of high school. Barton was a two-time all-state first team selection. The young linebacker had several Division One offers but decided to stay close to home and committed to Utah. Barton appeared in all 14 games with three starts, leading all freshman on the team with 46 total tackles (8.0 TFL, 4.5 sacks) along with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. In 2023, Barton started the first seven games at linebacker before sustaining a season-ending leg injury. At the time of the injury Barton was having another stellar season collecting 34 tackles and also had two interceptions, including a pick-six vs. Weber State. Barton has fully recovered from his injury and is starting for Utah in 2024.