Syracuse Football: Film breakdown on 2020 athlete Justin Barron

Syracuse football notched another commit on Sunday. Here is a full film breakdown and an exclusive statement on his future.

Syracuse football got a second verbal commitment Sunday night, this time from a much more well-known recruit. Justin Barron, a wide receiver/tight end/linebacker committed to Syracuse after he was on campus this past weekend.

Barron has been on the Syracuse campus a bunch of times but felt that after this visit it was time to pull the trigger. He is high school teammates with Tyler Van Dyke and Jaden Dottin, both of whom have offers from Syracuse and have been on campus. However, Van Dyke, the Orange’s top QB in the class of 2020 recently committed to Miami.

At 6-foot-4 and 210-pounds Barron brings great size to Syracuse for any of the three potential positions he might play. The Suffield Academy star has offers from the likes of Boston College, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Virginia.

According to 247sports.com, Barron is a 3-star prospect and the 89th best athlete in his class. They also list him as the 9th best player in the state of Connecticut.

Chalk this recruiting victory up to Defensive Coordinator Brian Ward, who handles the New England region for the Orange.

Barron announced his commitment via twitter:

Let’s check out his film:

The first play I want to look at occurs at the :25 mark of the film. Barron is lined up on the outside of the formation at wide receiver. He and the slot on that side of the field run a simple crossing route and go deep. Barron beats his man and the safety over the top, using his size to be the first to the ball about 50 yards from the original line of scrimmage.

It was not an easy catch, as a defender was right behind Barron, but he did get some help from Van Dyke at QB (you can see why the coaching staff liked him as a prospect too). If Barron can be a vertical threat with that size at the next level, it will be hard to keep him off the offensive side of the ball.

What also might make Barron an offensive player is his frame in the red zone. At the :53 mark of the film, Barron is at the top of the screen in one-on-one coverage as a wide receiver.

Recognizing this, Van Dyke immediately looks his way, throwing a jump ball in the end zone, that Barron easily wins. However, that is not the only impressive thing about this catch. In addition, Barron shows good body control, getting both feet in bounds, good for a touchdown on Sundays.

At the 3:54 mark of the film you get a good glimpse of Barron at linebacker. He is not big enough yet to play middle linebacker and stuff the run, however, on this play he shows how he could be useful as a coverage linebacker.

Barron is assigned to watch the running back. If he gets a handoff come up in run support, if he goes out for a pass, be there and make an open field tackle. The latter is exactly what Barron does. He reads the play, recognizing a short pass in the flat and reacts downhill quickly. As soon as the running back catches the ball, he makes a nice tackle on him in the open field.

If Barron is to play defense, I think he’d be best suited at outside linebacker or perhaps safety. He has the foot speed to cover tight ends and running backs, that is why I think he would fit those positions well.

Justin Barron provided an exclusive statement to Inside the Loud House on his commitment, what he can bring to the team, and what his goals are:

"“So what I bring to the table are leadership and energy. Every snap I’m going to give it everything I got, and I want the dome to be jumping! The goal is clear we want the National Championship, nothing less.”"