Furman University

Honors & Awards
2023 Preseason All-Southern Conference 2nd Team
2023 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll
2023 Southern Conference All-Academic Team
2022 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll

2023 — Named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference 2nd Team as selected by the coaches.

2022 — Emerged as a principal performer on Furman’s defense, seeing action in all 13 games and making nine starts at defensive end...played a pivotal role in Furman’s 10-3 season that featured a stretch of seven consecutive wins and an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, where the Paladins claimed a 31-6 first round home win over Elon...10 wins represented the most by Furman since 2005...team finished a consensus 10th in final AFCA and Stats Perform Polls...campaign was fueled with strong work by Furman’s defense, which led the FCS in turnovers gained (29), and by superior special teams play that saw the Paladins also top the FCS in blocked kicks (10)...registered 30 tackles on the season, including seven for-loss and 2.5 sacks...paced the FCS with a school record four blocked kicks...began the season as a backup to Jeremiah Jackson...stepped into the starting lineup after Jackson sustained a season ending injury early in the Charleston Southern contest (24-19 win)...went on to log starts in the Paladins’ final nine games...earned his first blocked kick on a 46-yard field goal attempt against Charleston Southern...career starting debut came the next week against Samford...had four tackles, including one for-loss versus The Citadel (21-10 win)...tallied a season high five stops (2 TFLs) against VMI (41-3 win)...deflected a pair of passes and blocked a 24-yard field goal attempt in a 24-20 win over FCS sixth-ranked Chattanooga...blocked FG versus UTC came midway the fourth quarter and helped preserve the Paladins’ 24-20 lead...notched his third blocked kick (30-yard FGA) the next week in a 23-13 road win over FCS 11th-ranked Mercer and extended his streak of blocked field goals to three games by deflecting a 38-yard attempt against Wofford (63-28 win)...named to both 2022 SoCon All-Academic Team and SoCon Academic Honor Roll for the 2022-23 school year.

2021 — Earned playing time in eight games and totaled four tackles...recorded a pair of stops in a 37-31 win over 20h-ranked VMI...named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll for the 2021-22 school year.

2020 — Saw action in four games as a reserve (spring of ‘21), working at both defensive tackle and defensive end...tallied two stops against Mercer and one in season finale versus The Citadel.

2019 — Appeared in two late season games...made career debut and collected his first tackle in regular season finale versus Point (64-7 win)...awarded redshirt and extra year of eligibility.

High School: 2019 graduate of Centennial (6A) High School...chose Furman from among 20 scholarship offers, including eight from FBS programs...football coach was Michael Perry...saw duty at eight positions during his prep career: defensive end, punter, outside linebacker, middle linebacker, tight end, fullback, nose guard, and defensive tackle...career statistics include 75 tackles (19 tackles for-loss), 14 sacks, six blocks field goals, and three blocked punts...served as team captain and earned second team all-region honors in 2018.

Personal: Full name is John Francis Barton...born February 14, 2001, in Atlanta, Georgia...son of Bill and Elizabeth Barton...has a brother, Bill...father, Bill, played football at Tennessee...brother, Bill, played football at Centre College...uncle, Hollis Barton, was a three-year letterman (1978-82) and All-SoCon offensive guard at Furman who played on three SoCon championship teams...information technology major.