Barton was born in Cottonwood Heights, Utah and attended Brighton High School.[2] He comes from a family of athletes; his father, Paul, played baseball and football for the Utah Utes; his mother, Mikki-Kane, was an honorable mention All-American basketball player for Utah as well as an athlete competing in volleyball; his sister, Dani Drews, was an All-American volleyball player for the Utes; and both of his brothers, Cody and Jackson, each have played for Utah and in the National Football League (NFL).[3]
Barton attended Brighton High School and played basketball and football: in football, he was twice first-team all-state, twice first-team all-region and was the 2020 Region 6 MVP; and in basketball he was a second-team all-state choice.[4][5][6] He played linebacker and wide receiver in football, totaling 122 tackles in addition to two interceptions as a senior while also having a career total of 16 receivingtouchdowns.[6] Barton was highly recruited, being ranked a four-star prospect, the second-best player in the state and the 17th-best linebacker nationally.[4][7][8] He committed to play college football for the Utah Utes, following in the steps of several of his family members.[9]
As a true freshman at Utah in 2022, Barton appeared in 14 games, three as a starter, and posted 46 tackles, eight TFLs, 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.[10][11] He was selected by College Football News as a second-team FreshmanAll-American and was named the Pac-12 Conference Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.[4][12] He entered the 2023 season as a starter at linebacker.[10]
