Whenever new Syracuse coach Fran Brown happens by Justin Barron’s room, he expects to find him studying, writing things down, calling up more video.
‘When he leaves practice, he’s not done with football,” Brown told reporters after a game this season. “He takes football with him.”
It’s always been that way for Barron; it’s how he got himself from Rocky Hill to Syracuse, why he stayed to flourish under a new coaching staff, it has made him, UConn coach Jim Mora says, “the core” of the defense.
“I’m kind of a junkie,” Barron told The Courant after a practice this week. “Good and bad, I don’t have a life outside of football, this is all I really do. You can even ask my parents. I’ve been doing that since I was young playing in Rocky Hill East football league, right? We would have DVDs of the game and I would come home from school, put down my PlayStation and watch them.
Shawn McFarland / Hartford Courant
Suffield Academy receiver Justin Barron (Rocky Hill) catches a pass in the second quarter of a 29-21 win over Avon Old Farms.
“I want to be someone that guys come up to and ask questions, and I want to have the answers.”
Barron’s father, Jason, played for UConn in the 1980s and used to take his son to games at Rentschler Field. Football means enough to Justin, a defensive back/linebacker and ‘Mr. Fix It’ on defense for the Orange, that he played much of last season with a broken hand. It affected his tackling, and he was determined to play another year to “prove I could make plays in space.” He had his paperwork filled out to enter the transfer portal, but when he met with Brown, former defensive backs coach at Georgia who replaced Dino Babers and the new coaches, he hit “delete.”
“Our goals ended up lining up,” Barron said. “And his vision for me and my vision for my last year ended up lining up. That’s what really drove me back because me staying here was essentially transferring anyway. … Everything’s a lot different around here, just a big culture change for everything in the program. You could say our brand is D.A.R.T., it’s not just a saying, we really live by it. Details, accountable, relentless and tough and we have to embody that to be a part of this team and if you’re not, we’re not going to be successful. That’s something that was instilled in us the first day, you either did it or you got the heck out of here. You didn’t have a choice. (Brown) had a vision of how he wanted to win, and how he wanted to win right now.”
Teammate Devin Grant says Barron is “all D.A.R.T.,” embodies and exceeds all levels of it. But Brown’s new ways of operating have not only agreed with Barron. The Orange are 7-3 heading into their game Saturday against UConn, also 7-3, at noon at JMA Wireless Dome.
“The first thing that sticks out when you watch UConn is how well-coached they are,” Barron said. “Very assignment oriented, everyone has a job and they do their job and don’t worry about doing someone else’s job. They communicate very well up front, their backs are big and they like to make plays.
Outside, they’ve got some transfers that are all athletic. Both the quarterbacks (Nick Evers and Joe Fagnano) are really talented. So we’ve got a lot to deal with it. They’ve really improved a lot the last couple of years since Coach Mora has been there and it’s really impressive to see. And I’m very happy for them, being a Connecticut kid.”
Barron, 6 feet 4 and 225 pounds, who played at Suffield Academy, has played in 48 games for Syracuse, most at defensive back. This season, the makeup of the team necessitated he move to linebacker and he has been as active and productive as ever, in on 7.3 tackles per game, with two sacks, a fumble recovery and, in a win a NC State, an interception.
“Last year, when I broke my hand three or four games in, my tackling really struggled,” he said. “I didn’t really have the ability to grab and hold on to people. It’s something I wanted to prove I have done and can do.”
With all of his football experience and study, Barron can be an extension of the coaching staff. When another from Connecticut, Bloomfield’s Davien Kerr, joined the squad and transitioned from receiver to the secondary, Barron became a mentor. Last week at Cal, Kerr broke into the lineup and got an interception in a victory at Cal-Berkeley.
“The first day he got here I tried to take him under my wing,” Barron said, “tried to teach him the little things and how to be consistent, show up every day and be the same person. He’s been grinding, learning, watching more and more film and asking me questions. The sky’s the limit for him. He’s ridiculous, that (interception) was one of the best plays I’ve seen a cornerback make on a ball in a long time. We need more Connecticut guys up here.”
Bloomfield’s Davien Kerr steps up to make big play for Syracuse; faces UConn next
Mora, a former NFL coach who thinks Barron has NFL written all over him, might like a word about that. Barron, who made three tackles in Syracuse’s 48-14 win at UConn in 2022, and Mora have watched enough film, actually, to be fans of each other.
“Oh, he stands out,” Mora said. “He’s so versatile, he does everything well. He’s kind of the core of the defense. incredibly smart, great anticipation, tremendous length. They can play him anywhere. He can cover backs, he can go out and cover wideouts, he runs to the ball well. He’s physical. I mean, I have watched him for three years and have great respect for him. I think he’s going to be a great NFL player some day because of the traits he has. The way the game is played today, in space, he has all the attributes you need to be a great player.”
