THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 2, 1995 TAG: 9511020511
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long : 232 lines
There was never any doubt about it. In fact, Tiki and Ronde Barber never discussed it. College scouts who visited their Roanoke home never mentioned it.
Everyone took for granted that the twin brothers who excelled in the classroom and on the field at Cave Spring High School would play football at the same college.
``We knew without ever sitting down and talking about it that we were going to the same school,'' says Ronde, who arrived in the world six minutes ahead of his brother on April 7, 1975, ``and most of the coaches recruited us that way.''
For 20 years, they have been virtually inseparable. Even back when they played little league sports, they demanded to be on the same team.
``We have always been good friends, as well as brothers, and we have done everything together,'' Ronde says. ``It was natural that we would not go separate ways after high school.''
The Barbers, recruited by most major schools, narrowed their list to Michigan, Penn State, Clemson and Virginia.
A visit to Michigan was canceled by a snowstorm. That helped to convince them they did not want to go there.
They never made it to Penn State, either. After visiting Clemson and Virginia, they decided on the Cavaliers.
Recruiter Danny Wilmer remembers breaking the good news to coach George Welsh during a mid-winter staff meeting.
``Both of them?'' Welsh asked.
Wilmer nodded.
Welsh, who seldom displayed much emotion over a signing, smiled broadly. ``Geez, Danny,'' he said. ``Way to go!''
Indeed. In the Barbers, Virginia landed not only identical twins, but identical stars, albeit on opposite sides of the ball. Tiki, a running back, leads the ACC in all-purpose yardage while Ronde is an All-American candidate at defensive back.
Tonight the Barbers will double-team No. 2-ranked Florida State (8 p.m., ESPN) in what amounts to the ACC championship game.
Geraldine Barber wanted her ``babies'' to go where they would be happy, and if that was the University of Virginia, it was fine with her.
Down deep, she had selfishly hoped they would wind up at Virginia Tech, which was closer to home. Plus, that was her school, where she had graduated with a degree in education, and where she fell in love with James Barber, a star running back whom she married in 1973.
The twins were born in Montgomery County two years later. Geraldine named them Jamael Oronde (Ronde) and Atiim Kiambu (Tiki).
She got the African names from a friend at Virginia Tech who told her Ronde meant ``first born son,'' and Tiki meant ``fiery-tempered king.''
The Barbers' marriage lasted seven years. James played briefly in the old World Football League, then moved away and chose not to have a close relationship with his sons.
The boys got a call from their dad last year after Ronde intercepted two passes and Tiki scored a touchdown against Wake Forest. They haven't heard from him since, and haven't seen him since they were 4 years old.
``He writes every now and then, on our birthday, but I really don't know him,'' Tiki says. ``We are pretty much estranged.''
Ronde, who thinks his father has settled in Oklahoma, says he harbors no ill feelings: ``Maybe he watches when our games are televised, but I don't know.''
Geraldine regrets that James did not retain a relationship with the boys. As her sons grew up, she remembers friends often telling her how much the boys were like ``J.B.'' She kept a couple of his old Tech jerseys that they wore as night shirts.
For a while, she had hoped one of them would wear James' number, 42, at Tech. But the boys hardly gave Tech a thought.
Ronde says Tech didn't put much effort into trying to get them, possibly believing they would come because of family ties.
``But, really, it wasn't like that,'' Ronde says. ``We viewed all the schools objectively and Tech just didn't seem like the place we wanted to be.''
For the last two years, Geraldine has sat with the Virginia crowd during the games against Tech, feeling a little uncomfortable not being with her friends on the other side, but fully supporting her boys. As she has always done.
Life is never easy for a single mom, especially one with twin boys to raise. But it never seemed to get Geraldine Barber down. Even when she held two jobs, she made time to support her boys in athletics and encourage them in their studies.
``I don't know how she did it,'' Ronde says, ``but one day I am going to ask her because I want to raise my kids the same way. She did a great job, and she is still an inspiration to both of us.''
Ronde does not remember his mom ruling the household with a strong hand.
``I don't think she was a strong disciplinarian,'' he says. ``I remember times that she was, but in general she wasn't. She was always excitable, always happy. If she asked us to do something, we did it, so she really didn't have a lot of need to put strong discipline on us.''
College recruiters, who normally find a prospect's home decorated with trophies and NFL posters, were delightfully surprised to find the Barbers' home often swamped in term papers and science projects.
Tiki graduated from high school with a 4.0 average and was class valedictorian. Ronde had a 3.3.
``Mom was always strong on academics,'' says Tiki.
She still is, carrying a 4.0 average at Averett College, where she is pursuing a master's degree in business.
Competition, whether in the classroom or the athletic field, was a motivating force for the Barbers.
But it was never Tiki vs. Ronde. It was more like each brother striving to stay in step with the other.
``The competition was internal, not external,'' Ronde says. ``Whatever he did well, I felt I had to do well.''
Says Tiki: ``I wouldn't say there ever was direct competition between us. But when Ronde did great things, I wanted to do great things.''
Whether by design or not, the boys never competed for the same position in football or against each other in the same track events.
Ronde excelled on defense, Tiki on offense.
``Coaches put him on one side of the ball, and me on the other,'' Tiki says. ``It was the same way in track. The coach told him he was going to run hurdles and I was going to run sprints.''
One year in junior high school, Ronde went on a diet so he could wrestle in a different weight class from Tiki, allowing both to win district titles.
It was inevitable that by playing on opposite sides of the line in football they would confront each other in practices. But they never permitted those instances to disrupt their respect for each other.
During an early Virginia practice, Tiki's assignment was to throw a cut-block at Ronde's knees. Instead, he gave his brother a harmless brush to the chest.
Running backs coach Ken Mack asked Tiki if he thought his brother would have been that nice to him.
``I know he would,'' Tiki replied.
A couple of plays later, Tiki ran the ball through the line and Ronde had the opportunity to slam-tackle him from an unprotected angle. Instead, Ronde let his brother run out of bounds.
On his way back to the huddle, Tiki looked at Mack and said: ``I told you so.''
Earlier this season at North Carolina State when hecklers got on Ronde, Tiki boldly took on the hecklers.
``He looks after me, and I look after him,'' Ronde says. ``It works both ways.''
The physical differences between the brothers are subtle.
When they first arrived at Virginia, the only way Welsh could tell the difference was that Tiki wore a blue offense jersey and Ronde a white defense jersey.
But assistant coach Art Markos caught on right away when Tiki once jokingly tried to pass himself off for Ronde at a defensive backs meeting.
The easiest way to distinguish between the two is that Tiki often wears glasses and has become a little heavier in the last year - both are 5-foot-10, but Tiki weighs 192 pounds to Ronde's 180.
As for personality differences, Tiki admits he is more sensitive and less outgoing than his brother.
``I was very quiet and shy when I was small, but sports kind of forced me to come out of that,'' Tiki says. ``If you do well in sports, everyone wants to talk to you, and that forces you to talk. Ronde was always a little more outgoing and that is definitely so now.''
While Tiki contends the brothers ``don't spend every minute together,'' Ronde thinks it is interesting how much they are together, considering the opportunities in college to develop separate interests and friends.
``We share a suite and are always doing things together,'' Ronde says. ``We are both majoring in the same thing (business), listen to the same music, and, as far as our social life, when he goes out, I go out, usually to the same place. We always have a good time.''
Despite their success in high school, neither Barber knew what to expect at Virginia. And as pleased as Welsh was to have them, he confessed: ``We are not expecting miracles.''
There was no big splash that first year, either. In 1993, Ronde did not play a down and was red-shirted. Welsh wishes he had red-shirted tailback Tiki, too, instead of wasting a year of eligibility by letting him carry the ball 16 times for 45 meaningless yards.
Tiki continued to struggle last season and was constantly the target of stinging criticism from Welsh while Ronde, as a redshirt freshman, became a big star and occasionally got a sideline hug from his coach.
Tiki told reporters that after being the one that grabbed headlines in high school he was learning how it felt to be ``the other Barber.''
Ronde had 15 tackles and an interception against Florida State in his first college game and was named Chevrolet Player of the Game by ABC Sports. He went on to became the first Virginia freshman to make All-ACC, finished second in the nation in interceptions with eight, and was a third-team All-American.
Tiki used his brother's success for motivation. No longer able to rely solely on his speed as he did in high school, Tiki hit the weight room daily to build up his strength and to add weight. He still had sprinter-type speed, but now he was able to slam into the line with force and not worry as much about being injured or fumbling the ball.
``He went from being a good outside runner to being a big-league tailback,'' says Welsh. ``He is pretty clever, and I am not sure I have ever coached a running back quite like him before. Some of his moves are like those that (Dallas star Emmitt Smith) makes.''
Tiki already has become only the eighth player in Virginia history to gain at least 1,000 yards in a season. He leads the ACC in rushing yardage (1,030) and is averaging 5.5 yards a carry. With three games remaining, he needs only 194 yards to break Barry Word's single-season record of 1,224 yards.
After a 185-yard performance against Duke two games ago, Tiki received a special ``thank you'' from Welsh.
``I used to wonder why that man hated me so much,'' Tiki says of his first two years when Welsh was on him constantly. ``Ronde kept telling me that coach Welsh was just trying to make me a better player, and now I can see that.''
The Barbers wonder if there is some unwritten law that says both can't have great years at the same time.
``It always seems when he's up, I'm down, and vice versa,'' says Ronde. ``I don't know why that it.''
Ronde came into the season with high expectations but a step behind after undergoing surgery on his left foot last May. That limited his summer conditioning program, and then he twisted his right ankle in preseason.
In the opening game, he was the victim as Michigan threw for the winning touchdown on the final play of the game. Critics have been on him most of the season, although he has retained the support of coaches and teammates.
``I have made mistakes, but a lot of people were on me for things that were not my fault,'' Ronde says. ``I've had to learn to deal with that as I had to deal with my early success.''
Despite the criticism, Barber remains one of the top defensive backs in the ACC and in only his second season is within seven interceptions of Keith McMeans' school-record 17.
The big question is if Ronde will play two more seasons or make himself available for the NFL after next season, when Tiki completes his eligibility.
``It is something I think about, especially with the success I had early in my career,'' Ronde says. ``But it is not a decision I have to make now.''
No one will be surprised if Ronde, on track to graduate with Tiki in four years, does go to the pros with his brother. After all, they've always done things together. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Tiki Barber, left, the ACC in all-purpose yardage this season while
twin brother Ronde, right, is an All-American candidate at defensive
back who is within seven interceptions of the U.Va. record.
Photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian Pilot
Virginia running back Tiki Barber leads the ACC in all-purpose
yardage this year.
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