Coach | 2022 Notre Dame LB Target Lander Barton Special On & Off Field

Saying Lander Barton‍ comes from an athletic family is quite the understatement.

“Both of his brothers played football at the University of Utah,” Brighton High School head coach Justin Hemm says of the 2022 Utah linebacker. “Both are now playing in the NFL.

“They've got a sister who is an All-American volleyball player at Utah, and then both his parents also were scholarship athletes at Utah.”

Barton is the youngest of the crew.

“So, all the experiences that his family's had, he's been able to learn from them,” his coach says. When it comes to his athleticism and specifically his football IQ, I mean it's off the chart.”

Jackson is an offensive lineman with the New York Giants while Cody is a linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks. Dani is the volleyball player for the Utes. Their father, Paul, played baseball for the Utes while their mother, Mikki, played basketball and volleyball.

No surprise that there’s a serious competitive nature that runs through the family.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” says Hemm. “Especially between the brothers. The three, Lander, Jackson and Cody there is, and then even the dad, Paul, there's a competitiveness amongst themselves, let alone against their peers.

“But yeah competitiveness, work ethic, those things. He sets a great standard for our program is what I should say.”

Hemm calls Barton “special.”

“Extremely athletic and then a football IQ off the charts, I think that kind of separates him,” the coach says. “It's always a good thing when one of your top players has the work ethic of Lander and sets the expectation for his peers within our high school team.”

Hemm points to Barton’s “athleticism, his movement, his quickness, his burst.”

“He seems to always be in the right spot that makes him kind of special,” he continues. “When you're talking about a 6-4, 220-pound kid, sometimes they might lack in coordination. Sometimes their feet might be a little bit behind what they actually want to do. That's not the case for Lander.

“He plays basketball, which obviously helps him. He does very well on the basketball court, but he is just very mature emotionally, mentally and physically for his age.”

But it’s the stuff off the field with which Hemm is most impressed.

“I can't say enough about who he is off the field,” the coach says. “I think that's what separates him from other high school prospects. This kid is special when it comes to his dedication.

“One, obviously him as an athlete off the field, whether it's attending Pilates, whether it's the consistency in his diet and things like that, that he does pay attention to. But more importantly, how he treats people, how he interacts with people, how he talks to his teammates and things like that.

“I mean he's just one of the guys when it comes to that stuff. He treats everybody with respect and he’s a top-notch student as well.”

Last month, Notre Dame extended an offer to Barton, joining a group of schools that includes Utah, Stanford, UCLA, Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska and Washington among others.

Hemm couldn’t say exactly what Barton’s thoughts on the offer were, but did say, “Notre Dame's special, right? Anytime you get something from Notre Dame or even interest, right? When we first started getting that first letter from Notre Dame, that's big time. And I think that definitely fits him a little bit differently than maybe some of these others.”

As of now, Barton is focused on basketball season and will try to figure out his game plan for recruiting and visits afterward, when hopefully there’s more clarity on the visit calendar.

Obviously, there’s a deep connection between his family and Utah.

“He has a relationship with the staff at the University of Utah originally,” says Hemm. “I think Lander is a person who relationships and feel and fit and comfort and love, those are all going to be things that will play a factor in his decision.

“That means a lot no matter who, what, where; whether it's a football recruit or a person taking a job. Whatever the case may be, that plays a role.” 

But those won’t be the only factors in the decision either.