Marion Barber III quickly became a valuable contributor tothe Cowboys running game as a rookie and now along with Julius Jones, gives Dallas one of the best young sets of running backs in the National Football League. Much like Jones the year before, Barber jumped right into the action as a rookie with a number of outstanding performances, finishing fifth in the NFL in rushing among rookies with 538 yards. The Cowboys drafted Barber with their first selection in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft.2005: Barber's rookie campaign was a complete success as he finished with 538 yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries - good for second on the team. He also added 18 receptions for 115 yards. His 538 yards placed him fifth in the NFL in rushing among rookies, and his five rushing touchdowns placed him fourth among league rookies. After a solid training camp, Barber was sidelined for the final two weeks of preseason after having surgery on his foot to remove an infection. He opened the season as the club's kickoff return man, returning three kickoffs for a 19.3-yard average at San Diego (9/11). He was inactive the following week against Washington (9/19) and did not play at San Francisco (9/25). He saw his first real action at running back at Oakland (10/2). Working as the club's third-down back, he recorded the first two carries of his career, picking up one yard. He was inactive against Philadelphia (10/9) before seeing considerable action against the N.Y. Giants (10/16) following an ankle injury to Jones the previous week. Against the Giants he recorded 11 carries for 30 yards and had two receptions for 21 more. On the Cowboys first field goal drive of the fourth quarter, he accounted for 41 yards (20 rushing, 21 receiving) on the 15-play, 79-yard drive. Twice he picked up first downs on third down to keep the drive alive. The following week at Seattle (10/23), Barber did not start but saw the bulk of the action at running back for the injured Jones and led the team with 95 yards on 22 carries. He was also sacked on an attempted halfback pass. He earned his first NFL start and led the team with 127 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries against Arizona (10/30). It was the first 100-yard rushing game of the season for Dallas and the two scores were the first of Barber's career.His 28-yard touchdown run on the opening possession was his longest of the season. Against Philadelphia (11/14), Barber earned his second start and led the team with 46 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries while splitting time with Jones who was working back into the line-up. Barber had a one-yard scoring run in the first quarter to knot the game at 7-7 just one play after making a key blitz pickup that allowed Drew Bledsoe to complete a 58-yard pass to Peerless Price to the one-yard line. He later reeled off a 26-yard run with 3:17 remaining to set up a 20-yard Bledsoe-to-Terry Glenn touchdown pass on the next play as Dallas closed to within six points at 20-14 in a game they would later win 21-20. Barber spelled Jones against Detroit (11/20) and finished with 15 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns, his second two-touchdown game of the season and his third consecutive game with a score. Five of his carries picked up a first down, including two to convert third downs. Coming off the bench against Denver (11/24), he carried the ball nine times for 28 yards, seeing most of his action on third down. Barber led the team with 82 yards on 15 carries, including a season-long tying 28-yard run against Kansas City (12/11). He also added two receptions for 32 yards with a season-long 21-yard catch and an 11-yard catch to convert a third-and-eight on the final game-winning 14-play, 68-yard touchdown drive in the final four minutes of the game. At Washington (12/18), he had a season-high four receptions for 26 yards. On special teams he downed a punt at the Washington five-yard line on punt coverage. He managed only 20 yards on six carries at Carolina (12/24), but he had a five-yard reception and a seven-yard run to the Carolina two-yard line on the final game-winning touchdown drive to make the most of those yards.COLLEGE: Barber carried the ball 575 times for 3,276 yards (5.7 avg.) and 35 touchdowns for the Golden Gophers. His 3,276 rushing yards ranked third in school history as did his 14 career 100-yard rushing games. The 4,495 all-purpose yards Barber accumulated ranked second in school history as did his 35 rushing touchdowns. Barber accomplished these impressive numbers in only three years, having missed all but two games of his sophomore season before receiving a redshirt due to a chronic hamstring injury. As a junior, Barber earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after rushing for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns. After recovering from a hamstring injury from a year earlier, Barber rushed for 1,196 yards and 17 touchdowns to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors as a redshirt sophomore. He tied or broke several school records, including the record for rushing touchdowns in a season and 100-yard rushing games (seven) in a season. He was the focal point of an offense that set a Big Ten record for total offense (6,430) and finished with the fourth highest rushing total (3,759) and sixth-highest point total (503) in conference history. Barber also led the conference and finished seventh in the nation in punt return average (14.5). Barber struggled with hamstring problems that limited him to two games as a sophomore and earned him an additional year of eligibility. As a true freshman, Barber twice topped the 100-yard mark for rushing yards.PERSONAL: Barber was a SuperPrep and PrepStar all-Midwest and consensus all-state selection as a senior running back and defensive back at Wayzata, Minn., High School. He gained 1,778 yards and 18 touchdowns carrying the ball and picked off a team-high 10 passes patrolling the secondary. The business marketing education major led his team to an 18-4 two-year record, including a 10-2 mark in his final prep campaign. He was also an honorable mention all-conference center fielder for the Wayzata baseball team. As a rookie last year, Barber was a member of the Cowboys 2005 Rookie Club - a program designed to introduce rookie team members to community service in the Dallas area which included work with The Salvation Army, Children's Medical Center Dallas and Meals on Wheels. Marion is the son of Marion Barber, Jr., who gained 3,235 rushing yards and scored 34 touchdowns for the Golden Gophers (1977-80) before embarking on a seven-year (1983-88) NFL career with the N.Y. Jets. Marion III was the recipient of the Sheldon Douglas Endowed Scholarship at Minnesota.
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