When Michael Huff first met Jahdae Barron in 2020, he wasn’t sure what to think.

Huff had been an All-American and was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner for Texas in 2005 as the nation’s top defensive back. He had gone on to a solid eight-year NFL career, having his best years with the Oakland Raiders and finishing up with the Broncos in 2013.

“The moment he got there, he told me he’d be the best DB to ever play at the University of Texas, that he’d be better than me,’’ Huff, assistant director of player development for the Longhorns, told The Denver Gazette about Barron’s arrival as a freshman. “I was thinking, who is this little scrawny kid who thinks he’s going to be better than me? I was an All-American, won a national championship and won the Jim Thorpe.”

Flash forward five years and Huff now can laugh about their first meeting. Barron went on to last season become an All-American, win the Jim Thorpe Award and help the Longhorns to a College Football Playoff semifinal. The cornerback was then taken with the No. 20 pick by the Broncos in the April NFL draft.

“I give him a hard time because obviously he won the Thorpe and he was All-American but I was unanimous All-American and I won a national championship, so I have those two things over him,’’ Huff said. “But he’s definitely one of the greats to ever play at the University of Texas.”

The former safety also could note he was the No. 7 pick in the draft by the Raiders in 2006, going 13 spots higher than Barron did two decades later. But Huff is thrilled at how far Barron came during his five seasons at Texas.

“I think it’s always been kind of big brother, little brother from the moment he stepped on campus,’’ Huff said of their relationship. “He’s going to do everything right on the field (for the Broncos). They got a special one.”

One thing Barron won’t be able to do in Denver is wear No. 7 since it has been retired for quarterback John Elway. Barron had donned No. 23 his first four seasons at Texas before he sought last season to change to 7.

Why? Because Huff had worn that number with pride when he played for the Longhorns from 2001-05, and concluded his career by helping them to a 41-38 win over USC in the Rose Bowl for the national title.

“I had to ask him if I could wear 7, and he allowed me to wear 7,” Barron said after joining the Broncos. “I knew it wasn’t just an on-the-field thing. It was off the field on how Michael Huff carried himself and the whole nine. I took it upon me. I knew it was a lot of weight on me, but it’s good to have weight.”

Huff remembers well when Barron made the request to wear No. 7.

“I was definitely taken back and definitely humbled by the gesture,’’ Huff said. “I told him you have to do everything right on the field and do everything right off the field. … He definitely went out there and made the number proud and made plays and obviously won the Thorpe and got Texas close to the national championship. So I definitely think he did the number justice and definitely had a great year.”

Barron gives Huff plenty of credit for helping in his development before and after he put on No. 7.

“Michael Huff (is) a mentor, big brother, everything,’’ Barron said. “He played a big part.”

Huff provided Barron with regular advice throughout his five seasons at Texas, and Barron was quite the willing pupil.

“He was dragging me into the meeting room,’’ Huff said. “He was dragging me onto the field to do extra work. He wanted to do it all.”

It paid off with the Broncos having selected the versatile Barron. He joins the team that Huff finished his career with in 2013.

After seven productive seasons with the Raiders, including being named second-team All-Pro in 2010, Huff signed a three-year, $6 million contract with Baltimore before the 2013 season. But it didn’t work out and Huff was released after just seven games.

Huff, then 30, was eventually signed by the Broncos and got into three late-season playoff games and their first two playoff games. He played 19 snaps in a 24-17 win over San Diego and 11 in a 26-16 win over New England in the AFC championship game that earned the Broncos a berth in Super Bowl XLVIII against Seattle.

“It was amazing to play on that stage,’’ Huff said. “That was the first time I actually played winning football (in the NFL) because my whole seven-year career in Oakland, .500 was our best record.”

The Super Bowl, though, did not go well at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Broncos lost 43-8 to the Seahawks and Huff, despite being active, didn’t get in for a snap.

“It was just a personnel thing, just going against a Seattle offense that was more run heavy,’’ Huff said. “I don’t look at it as a disappointment at all (not playing). A lot of kids grow up and never get to set foot in a Super Bowl stadium let alone being on that big stage.”

Even though Huff didn’t play, his No. 29 Broncos jersey from the game is displayed prominently at his home in Austin, Texas.

“It’s framed in my house, with the Super Bowl patch on it,’’ Huff said. “Not everybody has a Super Bowl jersey, so I had to frame that one. It was a great way to finish my career.”

After the season, Huff retired from the NFL. He became a quality control assistant coach at Texas in 2016, but after two years moved into his current role at the school.

Now, he’s eagerly waiting to see Barron play for Denver.

“I’m sure he’ll show up the first day of training camp and tell them he’ll be the best DB to ever play in a Broncos uniform,’’ Huff said with a laugh.

What I’m hearing

—Denver media personality Nick Ferguson, a Broncos defensive back from 2004-07, sees Barron is more likely to take playing time away from Ja’Quan McMillian, the primary nickel back the past two years who is due to become a restricted free agent next March, than Riley Moss, a first-time starter in 2024 at outside cornerback.

“I know they really like Riley Moss,’’ Ferguson said. “Ja’Quan is on an expiring deal, so if the team can find a player like Jahdae Barron and they can plug and play him in that spot, knowing as though they don’t have to pay Ja’Quan next year, to me that’s a win-win for the team.”

However, Ferguson expects the competitive McMillian to put up a good fight for the spot.

—Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. is one of the NFL’s most versatile players. He catches passes, returns kickoffs and even lines up at times in the backfield as a runner.

“One thing I kind of pride myself in is just being an explosive playmaker whether that’s (in receiving), in return or in the backfield,’’ he said. “Anything.”

Mims said he’s “excited for our special teams” this season, noting new special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi is “one of the best in the NFL.”

What I’m seeing

—The youngest player on the Broncos is not a rookie. He is second-year man Audric Estime. Estime, who was 20 when taken by Denver in the fifth round of the 2024 draft, is 21 and turns 22 on Sept. 6. The only other 21-year-old on the Broncos is rookie defensive end Sav’ion Jones, a third-round pick, who turns 22 on July 3. Even though the Broncos have signed veteran running back J.K. Dobbins, 26, and took RJ Harvey, 24, in the second round of the draft, it would seem misguided to not continue to be very patient with Estime considering his youth.

—Former Broncos star defensive lineman Trevor Pryce comes from a family that has been well represented in multiple sports. Pryce said his son, Trevor Pryce III, after starring at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., will enter Grambling (La.) State this fall to play baseball. Pryce’s sister Nandi was a soccer star at UCLA who later played for the U.S. National Team. Pryce, who played for Denver from 1997-2005, has a daughter, Kamryn, who played soccer at the University of Washington and a daughter, Khary, who played tennis at Cornell before later being an assistant coach at Harvard.