Canton, Oh – From humble beginnings in Roanoke, Virginia to the NFL Hall of Fame. Ronde Barber of Cave Spring High School and the University of Virginia was a third-round pick in the NFL draft.
He was considered undersized at 5′10″ 180 pounds to be a run-stopping nickel corner. But he turned grit and determination into a 16-year NFL Hall of Fame career. Barber spent all 16 seasons, including a Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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He had a funny and emotional exchange with his former coach on the field in Canton.
“I love you because you were willing to do whatever we asked you to do. You knew you could cover people, but what were you thinking when we had you on those inside run drills and we had guards in tackles pulling to block you?” Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy asked.
“I knew I was in trouble when y’all sent me to the linebacker room to figure out run fits, but I loved it. It got me on the field first of all and you know this. I had a rough start to my career but the more I could do the better my career advanced, and I was willing to do it and I am so honored Tony to be on the field with you with this gold jacket I’m about to get,” Dungy replied, “I can’t wait. I can not wait.”
Ronde and the rest of the 2023 class were introduced on the field in Canton at the Hall of Fame game Thursday night.
The ceremony is set for Saturday.
Ronde’s identical twin brother Tiki – also an NFL star – will present his brother to the hall. Ronde played safety for the Knights and graduated from Cave Spring in 1993 as a state champion hurdler in track. He was a three-time All-ACC pick at Virginia, recording 15 interceptions.
Ronde headed to Tampa as a third-round pick and became a key member of the famed Tampa 2 defense. A franchise-record 47 interceptions and 28 sacks to go along with more than 14 hundred tackles followed. He started 215 consecutive regular season games.
”I had a really good long career end, and there’s a lot of people that helped me along the way, of course, but mine is a good story of dealing with adversity and slow starts and finding a way to maximize my potential when a lot of people didn’t think that I could, and I enjoyed every second of it,” Ronde said.