This Texas Longhorns defense had a few key contributors last season. Jaylan Ford was absolutely incredible in the 2022 season. Racking up 109 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. However, the player who actually played the Star position for the Longhorns was Jahdae Barron.
Jahdae Barron didn’t just play the nickel corner (or Star position) on the Longhorns defense, he played it at an elite level. As a first-year starter, Barron stood out as the best defensive back on Texas’ roster.
Jahdae Barron’s Road to the Forty Acres
Jahdae Barron is from Pflugerville Connally High School in Austin, Texas. Barron was not an elite recruit coming out of high school in the 2020 recruiting cycle. However, he was still ranked just inside the top-350 (he was 349th to be exact), according to the 247sports composite.
Barron was apart of a top ten ranked recruiting class for the Longhorns that year. Although he wasn’t highly ranked, Barron was a clear priority for this Texas staff. At the time, cornerbacks coach Jay Valai and defensive coordinator Chris Ash were the primary and secondary recruiters for Barron, respectively.
Jahdae Barron at Texas
Jahdae Barron has just wrapped up his third season at the University of Texas. Barron was a starter at the star position for the entire 2022 season. In 2021, Jahdae played in a rotational role until starting the final two games of the season, recording 226 snaps throughout the year. The 2020 season for Barron was a redshirt year. He only played 55 total snaps, 34 of them coming in the Alamo Bowl against Colorado.
In 2022, Barron had his chance to start and did not waste it. Jahdae was rarely out of position in coverage. He consistently made the tackle in run support. Most importantly, he was always around the football. That is the mark of a game-changing secondary player, in my opinion.
Jahdae’s Coverage Skills
Playing the Star position in Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense is difficult. Honestly, it’s probably the toughest position on the defense to play. With two talented outside cornerbacks, Jahdae was the most targeted player on the Texas defense.
Barron allowed 48 of the 68 targets he saw to become completions. However, that stat is a bit misleading, as the average depth of target for passes thrown towards Jahdae was only 3.8 yards. So although he gave up the most catches in the Texas secondary, they were primarily short completions. In yards per reception allowed by a Texas defender, Jahdae Barron ranked 18th on the team.
The completions he “allowed” in coverage were simple short routes designed to be open quickly and hoping the receiver would make a defender miss for a bigger gain. Unfortunately, for opposing offenses Barron is a great tackler.
Jahdae Barron ranked 1st in defensive stops on pass plays by a Texas defender and 3rd in defensive stops overall for a Texas defender. Pro Football Focus defines defensive stops as: a statistic defined as tackles that constitute as a “failure” for opposing offenses.
Jahdae was constantly dealing with opposing offenses go-to slot receivers, all able to have two-way go’s. “Two-way go’s” means the ability for the receiver to go to the field side or boundary side after the snap with their route. Basically, Barron was never afforded the luxury of being able to guess where the receiver’s route would be heading. As opposed to outside cornerbacks who can pin the receiver with the sideline, forcing the receiver to only go towards the field side of the players. This cuts down the receivers route options by half, naturally.
Although Barron was constantly dealing with the toughest assignment in the secondary, he still managed to shine.
Barron in Run Defense
Jahdae Barron’s willingness to be a force in the run game was a key factor in allowing Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate to only play with two off-ball linebackers on the field most of the time.
In a base 2-4-5 defense (2 defensive linemen – 4 linebackers – 5 defensive backs), there is a lot of pressure on the nickel defender to be active as a run defender because there are only six traditional box defenders in the game. Furthermore, although there are technically four linebackers on the field, two of them are often times edge defenders who are going to be primarily taking on blocks at the point of attack.
Jahdae Barron and Texas’ Outlook Going Forward
Overall, the 2022 season proved that Jahdae Barron is Texas’ best secondary player. The 2023 season will be all about stacking what we already know with improvements in all areas of his game. If Barron continues to develop he will absolutely be hearing his name called early in the 2024 NFL Draft. Specifically, as a first round draft pick.
However, for Jahdae Barron to truly excel and take the next step as a defensive star, he will need to force more turnovers in 2023. Barron’s 2 interceptions, 1 pass deflection, and 0 forced fumbles will leave a lot to be desired from NFL teams looking for a true playmaker.
Although, being a playmaker isn’t the slot cornerback’s main task, it will drastically help his outlook for several college trophies as well. Particularly the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the top defensive back in the nation every year.
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