Utah freshman linebacker Lander Barton grew up in a football — and an athletic — family.
As a youngster, he watched his older brothers, Cody and Jackson, play for the Utes, and as the 2022 season draws nearer, Lander, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound Brighton High product, is carrying on a Barton family legacy.
“I remember traveling to every bowl game when I was young,” Lander said. “I remember watching every game I could. Now I’m living that experience that they had.”
Jackson is currently an offensive tackle for the Las Vegas Raiders and Cody is a linebacker with the Seattle Seahawks. How have his brothers influenced him?
“I remember traveling to every bowl game when I was young. I remember watching every game I could. Now I’m living that experience that they had.” — Utah freshman linebacker Lander Barton on watching his big brothers play for the Utes
“Pertaining to football, they’ve influenced me in almost every way possible, from how I work out, how I eat, how I train, how I study film,” Lander said. “Every way possible. How to be a better person. They’ve helped me all along the way.”
Lander said he talks to each of his brothers “once or twice a week.”
But all three are going through their respective training camps right now.
“They’re pretty busy, too, with their seasons,” Lander said. “It’s a little bit of phone tag, trying to talk back and forth. I try to get in at least a couple of conversations.”
The Barton family has made quite a longstanding impact on Utah sports. Lander’s dad, Paul, played football and baseball at Utah. His mom, Mikki-Kane Barton, is a member of the Crimson Club Hall of Fame, a two-time honorable mention All-America basketball player and also played volleyball for the Utes.
Lander’s sister, Dani Drews, was a two-time All-American for the Utah volleyball team.
The Bartons also have an interesting connection with cities in Wyoming.
Paul and Mikki’s first son they named Jackson. Then they had another boy they named Cody.
“Then they realized those were both places in Wyoming,” Lander explained. “They didn’t want to do it with my sister. It would have been too much. Then they continued it with me.”
Has Lander ever been to Lander?
“I’ve never been to Lander, Wyoming,” he said. “I’ve been to Evanston though.”
Utah senior defensive tackle Devin Kaufusi can relate to Lander’s situation. He followed in the footsteps of his older brothers, Bronson and Corbin Kaufusi, at BYU before transferring to Utah. He knows what it’s like to grow up in a football family.
“I love having Lander around. The Bartons and Kaufusis have been long-time family friends. It’s been fun having Lander up here. He feels like a little brother to me,” Kaufusi said. “Home-grown here in the state. A football family. He comes to work every day with his lunch pail and gets to work.
“It’s extremely hard for a kid right out of high school to come in and have the work ethic, the attitude, let alone the talent, to come in and make plays with the ones. He’s really excelled at his game and become consistent with it.”
Devin said he and Lander talk about their families all the time.
“The Bartons are a legacy Utah family. My family is the Kaufusi down south with that team,” he said. “He’s joking like, ‘I thought you were a good guy but now you’re really cool.’ It’s been awesome having Lander here. They’ve got their ranch and stuff. I get my cowboy talk in with him. He likes the outdoors so we’re talking about that. He gets it, he really does.”
Certainly, Lander is well-equipped to make an impact for Utah early in his career.
Linebackers coach Colton Swan said that having older brothers that played in the program gives him an advantage.
“Just everything, from a culture standpoint of what we do on the defense. His brothers obviously, Cody playing linebacker here, I think he had some expectations in his mind,” he said. “He knew what to expect. He is exceeding all of those and doing a great job. I think with the tradition in his background, that’s helped him immensely.”
While Lander’s brothers are an obvious source of help in his career, Dani has helped him as well.
“My sister is a great example of how to compete. She’s a great athlete herself. Growing up, she was kind of like my second mom, always taking care of me,” he said. “We’re very close and we talk a lot. She plays volleyball so if I’m ever willing to, I can play with her. We compete in different ways and it pushes us to be better athletes.”
As tremendous as Jackson, Cody and Dani have been at Utah, coach Kyle Whittingham has called Mikki “the best athlete in the whole family. (Lander’s) sister is really good, but Mikki is fabulous.”
Does Lander agree with Whittingham’s assessment?
“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t know.”
Lander Barton may be a freshman, but he’s smart enough to be diplomatic when answering that type of question.
Besides, he has a legacy to uphold — and continue.
