Alijah Clark & Justin Barron: A Brotherhood at the Back End of the Mob
Syracuse, N.Y.-- Players continue to rave about new Syracuse defensive coordinator Rocky Long’s coaching philosophy as the godfather of the 3-3-5 defense. Pitching a shutout in college football, regardless of your opponent, is no easy feat as Syracuse was one of five programs in the nation to accomplish that feat last week. Two players that were critical for Cuse for “The Mob” were junior safeties, Alijah Clark and Justin Barron.
The two refer to one another as brothers, playing sideline to sideline, needing to be versatile members in the run-and-pass game. It looked like that opportunity would be snatched away from the duo during the first drive of the game as Clark went down with an upper-body injury. Luckily, Clark received minor medical attention on the sidelines and came back to have the best performance of his college career.
The Camden, New Jersey native finished tied with a team-high seven tackles, two of them being solo, and a fumble recovery. Pro Football Focus rated Clark the sixth-best safety in the nation with an 87.3 efficiency rate, tying him with Jaylin Simpson of Auburn. Barron spoke highly of the toughness and character that Clark put on display Saturday afternoon.
“He’s just the type of guy that’s never going to quit. Even in practice, he flies around every single play on D. He sets the tone by how we see him play ball, so we have to play the same way. He’s the one that sets the pace for us as a defense to play as,” Barron said.
Barron also had a solid game in his own right for Syracuse, posting three tackles, the forced fumble that Clark recovered in the first quarter, and excellent holds for Brady Denaberg on special teams. Clark returned the favor by telling reporters how impactful of a leader Barron is on the defense, complimenting his own demeanor on the field.
“He just keeps me calm. So, I’m not gonna say I'm a hothead. But I’m a very emotional player. I do play with a lot of passion, and sometimes I can get off-road, and Justin’s that guy to bring me back. I love Justin for that,” Clark said.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that both feel extremely comfortable with the defensive scheme because of prior experience under their belt. What could be seen as surprising is Coach Long and first-year safeties coach Darnell Perkins earning players’ trust with ease.
“He’s just letting us play. Pretty much after the first drive, it just felt like everything [Coach Rocky] said in practice was happening. So it pretty much gave me the lane to trust every word that Coach Rocky and Coach Perk said throughout the game,” Clark said.
One of the keys for a defensive back in the 3-3-5 scheme is the ability to be a force in the run game by making tackles in the open field and pursuing the football. The identity of “The Mob” is being the most physical team at all times, so it’s understandable why Clark and Barron take so much pride in this part of their skill set.
“Coach Perk did a great job in the offseason helping us work on tackling drills, understanding the defense, and knowing what your job is at all times. It’s really hard to be uncomfortable in the scheme right now,” Barron said.
With current Arizona Cardinal Garrett Williams and LSU transfer Duce Chestnut leaving “The Mob,” there were question marks if the secondary could replicate last year’s success as one of the top defenses in the country. Clark and Barron proved in week one that there should be zero worry about the back end of SU’s defense. According to the duo, they believe that “The Mob” is back.
“A lot of people thought we would drop off because we lost a lot of great players. But this team has depth and, as you guys said, the twos are coming in and making plays. This has been happening for years. It's a tradition in Syracuse football for the guys that's coming in to step up. Wherever we want to go as a group is what we will do. So long as we keep playing with each other, the sky is the limit for this group,” Clark said.
Watch “The Mob” in action this Saturday against Western Michigan at the JMA Wireless Dome. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and is available to watch on the ACCNetwork.
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