Syracuse football is coming off its first loss of the Fran Brown era last Friday. One of the positives from the game was the play of defensive back Justin Barron. After a position change, he had his best game of the season against Stanford.

Barron is one of the veterans on this year’s Syracuse football team. The senior has played in 52 games with the Orange at defense back, getting an All-ACC honorable mention last year. He typically plays in the team’s “star” role, a hybrid between safety and linebacker. However, with Marlowe Wax out with a lower body injury, Barron moved to more of a traditional inside linebacker spot against Stanford.

“You got bigger shoes to fill right now, it’s another new position," Barron said. "Being able to be counted on by my teammates and being able to be that guy who can do the job the right way. And I'd rather be me than anyone else. So I, I don't take that role lightly.”

“Because of his intelligence and his high IQ, he can do a lot, you know?" said Brown. "He can play safety, he can play outside linebacker, you know, he can line up at defensive end. The kid could do a lot of things because of his size, his athletic ability.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Barron had his best game of the season against Stanford, tying a season high in tackles and allowing just two catches for nine yards in coverage. He said the biggest difference is making sure everyone is on the same page, helping him make an impact. 

"Like, I thought I was communicating a lot when I was at Star, but now it's a whole different level," Barron said. "I got to talk to everybody on three levels and it only helps me, right? It helps my learning, it helps me really be able to talk to everyone on the field."

Barron’s ability and willingness to switch positions and make a positive impact are examples of leadership. It’s something he’s always done. Back in 2020, he converted from wide receiver to DB. 

“He's valuable. Just his leadership and his unselfishness to change positions, to go learn something new," said Syracuse Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Elijah Robinson. "I think it’s going to help him tremendously when he's ready to take those games to the next level as a professional.”

After the Stanford loss, Brown has talked about how his team needs to be more physical. Barron says there’s no mindset shift, just continuing to work on all the intangibles the defense wants to establish. 

“You know, you got to up it even more, right?" Barron said. "We thought we were going hard and now we're going even harder. We’re still gonna be a fast, physical and tough defense, right? Everything that we've been preaching all offseason and we're going to continue to do that and we just got to improve on it. Right now, nothing changes. It's just improving all those little things.” 

The Orange look to take the improvements into Saturday’s game against Holy Cross. Kickoff is at noon at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange look to improve to 3-1 before starting a three-game road trip.