ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701060039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Virginia defensive back Ronde Barber, who has been part of one of the most successful brother duos in ACC football history, has decided not to continue his college career as a solo act.
Barber, a three-time All-ACC selection, announced Friday that he will pass up his final season of college eligibility and join his brother in pursuing a career in the National Football League.
``That whole thing about us being twins has been played out to the fullest,'' said Ronde, whose twin, Tiki, was the ACC player of the year. ``We've had a good career here. It's been a good reign.''
Tiki Barber had completed his eligibility, but Ronde could have returned next season because he was redshirted in 1993, the year the Barbers came to Virginia from Cave Spring High School.
``Tiki's been nudging me in this direction all year,'' Ronde said. ``He's been telling people all year that I ought to go, but what he thinks isn't necessarily what I think. This time, I happened to agree with him.''
Barber did not call a news conference until after he met with UVa coach George Welsh and defensive backs coach Art Markos at 8 a.m. Friday.
``You know how George is,'' Barber said. ``He definitely wanted me to stay. He said that there might be more opportunities after next year and that I might be a higher draft pick, but I came out of the meeting thinking I had his blessing. That's pretty much all I can ask for.''
Of the 10 UVa players who made first- or second-team All-ACC, nine will be leaving, including eight seniors. Eight players return who started in the Carquest Bowl.
``The team's going to be fine next year,'' Barber said of questions about Virginia's prospects for 1997. ``That's something that's out there. It's something that people had mentioned, but it's not something that was part of my decision.''
Barber said he has been leaning toward ``coming out'' since before the start of the season, but wavered during the latter stages of the year, when he did not have an interception in six straight games.
He finished with three interceptions for the year and 15 for his career, two short of the school and ACC record. He did have a pair of interceptions in UVa's 31-21 loss to Miami in the Carquest Bowl.
``I wanted to show what I could do,'' Barber said, ``but I wouldn't say [the bowl] was a huge factor in my decision. I don't think I was ever leaning in the other direction.''
However, Barber refrained from making the decision until after the bowl game, when he talked with his mother and his brother while they were visiting relatives in Northern Virginia.
``He told me, `I didn't come up here to play football, so, why should I stay to play football?''' said Geraldine Barber, the twins' mother. ``If he was not on track to graduate, I would have been very much against this. I would have fought to the end to get him to stay.''
Ronde needs only six credit hours - the normal load is 15 - to graduate in May.
``As a parent, this is a win-win situation,'' his mother said. ``I played the devil's advocate with him. I asked him, `Are you prepared not to be drafted?' He said, `Yep. If I'm not drafted, I could have stayed and had the same thing happen next year.'''
Barber, who must inform the NFL of his decision by next Friday, said he did not seek information on his draft status from the NFL Advisory Committee, a group of general managers.
``The word was, it wouldn't be good advice because nobody has evaluated me,'' he said.
What he has heard from scouts who have talked to his brother is that he could go in the second round, if not higher, and is unlikely to slip past the third round.
``A lot of it depends on how I perform and what I do,'' said Barber, who will attend the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. ``I'm not the kind of person who wants to rely on anybody else to tell me how good I am. I want to go out there and prove it.''
Barber was one of only two players in UVa history to make first-team All-ACC three times, joining ex-Cavaliers offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski, who recently completed his 11th season in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints. Barber burst on the scene in 1994, when he was named ACC rookie of the year and had eight interceptions.
``He didn't have as many interceptions later,'' Welsh said, ``but I think he was a better football player this year than he was in the previous two. I was hoping he would come back and help stabilize the secondary, but I can understand his feelings.
``He's been a model citizen. He's done a great job here as a player and a student. We couldn't have asked for more. I told him we've appreciated everything he's done for us. He can have a great future in the NFL.''
Barber is the first Virginia player to turn pro after three seasons since wide receiver Herman Moore in 1990. Moore, a two-time All-Pro with the Detroit Lions, had his degree when he left UVa.
``With Tiki leaving, some of the hype might have fallen off,'' Barber said. ``Who knows? But, I think I've done all I can as far as becoming recognized and what not. Staying next year really wasn't going to add to that.''
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Ronde Barber (19) celebrates withby CNBVirginia teammates after a 62-14 win over North Carolina State on
Oct. 19. Barber, a cornerback, will join his brother Tiki in the NFL
draft. color.