Barron’s decision to return for a fifth season to elevate his NFL draft stock has allowed him to develop into one of the nation’s best cornerbacks.
For a player who talks openly about wanting to provide for his mother by playing in the NFL, the Jan. 13 announcement from Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron that he was returning for a fifth season on the Forty Acres registered as something of a shock.
The video released by Barron told a clear tale of his goals for the 2024 season — it opens with him looking at the Thorpe Award given to the nation’s best defensive back won by Longhorn legends Michael Huff and Aaron Ross. In walks Huff, Barron’s mentor and the assistant director of player development at Texas, carrying the No. 7 jersey that he wore during four outstanding seasons at Texas. The two embrace, and Huff hands Barron the jersey, his new number after No. 23 over his first four seasons with the Longhorns in honor of a friend who was killed by a gunshot in 2021.
To put it simply, Barron wanted to leave his own legacy on the Forty Acres after finishing as a Thorpe Award semifinalist last season.
“I want to leave this mark and do that, represent how I’m on a whole different journey,” Barron said at SEC Media Days. “It’s deep to represent Michael Huff and to play with burnt orange in the standard he played and try to be better and better.”
The decision came after spending nearly two weeks receiving feedback from his coaches
“With me coming back, there was so much emotion and things like that, I had to sit there and pray and then talk with my family, and I got advice from Coach Sark and Michael Huff, Quandre Diggs, things like that,” Barron said.
“I just wanted to hear their feedback and I put it in my big jar of my own and figure out what was my best opportunity. But at the end of the day, Sark always tells me to be where your feet are, and since I made that decision to come back, I’m locked in and ready for the season.”
For Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, the decision to invite Barron back for another year was a no-brainer.
“I think from a team perspective, him deciding to come back is an easy one, right? I think we’re better with Jahdae Barron on our team,” Sarkisian said during his Monday press conference.
The feedback that Barron got from the NFL Draft Advisory Board was perhaps the most impactful following a season that featured some real highs, but also saw Barron’s production drop late as he battled through a nagging injury that caused him to sit out most of spring practice.
It’s a process Sarkisian wants more players to go through.
“His decision to come back was was one that I wish all of our guys would go through — the same process he went through and part of that process is getting the grades from the NFL,” Sarkisian said. “It’s not just the grades that PFF or one of these websites put out, but it’s actually written reports that we get from NFL teams. And then in that report, they’ll say,’ Hey, this is your grade. This is what you do well, and here’s where you can improve that grade.’”
The balance for players considering making the jump to the NFL has long leaned towards leaving early to get to the all-important second contract more quickly. But NIL has changed that calculus — two years ago, Texas had to work to retain Barron after he was reportedly after a “significant deal.”
Even with the NIL opportunities available to players, Sarkisian still believes that there is more value to staying in school.
“If the things are tangible in there to improve that grade, man, it sure is worth your while, because I think so many times guys are thinking, I just got to get to the league so I can get to a second contract. But all the while there’s still money there that can be made, that you never get to make up again, right? So wherever you get drafted in that first deal, that is your money for that first four years, and so you never get a chance to go make that back,” Sarkisian said.
On Monday, Barron declined to provide any specifics about his feedback from the Advisory Board — there are questions about his top-end speed and transition ability — but Sarkisian was adamant that the decision has paid off for Texas and for Barron.
“I think Jahdae has made himself a ton of money this year by coming back,” Sarkisian said.
The Pflugerville Connally product originally signed with Baylor in the 2020 recruiting class, but reopened his recruitment when head coach Matt Rhule left for the Carolina Panthers. Hometown Texas got into the mix at that point, and he committed in late April. Barron played sparingly as a freshman before emerging as a key special teams contributor in 2021 while making two starts before moving to the nickel in a breakout 2022 season that saw the 5’11, 200-pounder record 78 tackles (43 solo), a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery, two interceptions, three pass breakups, and one quarterback hurry.
Barron’s outstanding play at the Star position in Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense continued last season with an interception in the upset win over Alabama, numerous big third-down stops, and a key fourth-down stop to preserve the narrow road victory over Houston on a day when the staff didn’t expect him to be able to play.
Against the Crimson Tide, Barron did allow a 36-yard reception and 93 total yards on four receptions, but he was largely efficient in coverage while providing his trademark physicality to set the edge and defend screens until late in the year, when the injury likely contributed to him giving up 76 yards on five receptions in the win over TCU, 62 yards in the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma State, and 104 yards on nine receptions in the Sugar Bowl loss to Washington. Teams were targeting him, and having success doing it.
With the return to health of junior Jaylon Guilbeau, Barron moved outside from the nickel while cross training at safety, a regular occurrence over the last year due to injuries. At cornerback, Barron has excelled this season, earning the highest grade of any Power Four cornerback in the country this season at 88.4 while leading the team in interceptions (three) and pass breakups (six). Two of those interceptions came against Georgia, the first time a Texas player has recorded two picks in the same game since D’Shawn Jamison did it against West Virginia in 2019.
“For us as a team, we’re really fortunate that he decided to come back,” Sarkisian said.
And now maybe Barron can achieve his goal of his mother not working during his first NFL contract instead of his second.