West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen has announced that redshirt-senior linebacker Jared Barber is the recipient of the 2014 Curtis Jones, Jr., Award, named in honor of the late Curtis Jones Jr., an associate athletic director for academic support at WVU who died suddenly in September 2013.

 

“Curtis Jones always will be remembered for his contributions to the Mountaineer football program and the high expectations he placed on our student-athletes. This award is a perfect way to honor his memory and make sure people are aware of how important he was to West Virginia University, especially this football program,” Holgorsen said.  “Jared Barber deserves this year’s honor. He represents the same values that Curtis stood for. Jared’s mental toughness and ability to overcome adversity continue to grow, especially over the past year. He is an excellent student-athlete who provides countless contributions on and off the field, as well as in the community.”

 

The Curtis Jones Jr., Achievement Award is presented annually to the Mountaineer football player who demonstrates excellence in all facets of his collegiate career, 

including academics, athletics and community service.

 

“It’s an honor to accept this,” Barber said. “I have been given awards in my past, but this is by the far the most prestigious and honorable award I have ever received. I take a lot of pride in this because of the type of person Curtis Jones was.”

 

Barber remembers Jones well, as Barber was a member of the football program for more than two years under the direction of Jones as his academic advisor. 

 

“He immediately made an impact on my life. You strive to be like him,” Barber explained. “Every single thing he did – whether it was family life, coming to work, exercising – everything he did, he did it 100 percent to his utmost ability. It really made us want to be like him. Even though he didn’t play football or wasn’t one of our coaches, he was our advisor. It was just something that he had, that other people don’t have. 

 

“The first thing that went through my mind when I heard I was going to be given this award was ‘am I worthy of this honor?’, because of the person Curtis was. This award means that I now have something greater to live up to. This is connected with his name and with that comes responsibility. Being in the same category as Curtis is a huge deal.” 

 

Brady Rourke was hired as the Associate Athletic Director for Student Services at WVU in May of 2014, taking over the position previously held by Jones and served as one of the key determiners of this year’s recognition. 

 

“The award was established to recognize Curtis Jones, who represented all of the character attributes we hope successful student-athletes at West Virginia, including the football program, display,” Rourke said. “This award recognizes a WVU football player and student-athlete who embodies mental toughness, commitment, the ability to persevere and overcome adversity, and who is someone his teammates look to for support and leadership. It became apparent that Jared possesses all of those skills, and that Curtis would have wanted all of his guys to develop.”

 

Barber, a Mocksville, North Carolina, native, is a multidisciplinary studies major and a Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll honoree. He has volunteered with the Summit Community Service Initiative and the Jeff Hostetler Foundation. Barber visited and spoke with children at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, provided service with Christian Help and several projects with his youth group in Mocksville. 

 

He has appeared in 32 career games, recording 128 total tackles, two fumble recoveries and six pass breakups. The linebacker was the team’s third-leading tackler in 2013, before tearing his ACL in a game against Texas on Nov. 9. The injury forced him to miss the entire 2014 season – something that helped define the personality Barber exhibits today. 

 

“When some student-athletes face adversity, they have a sense of not feeling a part of things and remove themselves from the inner circle. Jared did the opposite,” Rourke said. “He stood up and figured out other ways to contribute to this program.”

 

“Obviously nobody wants to go through that type of injury. It was a struggle,” Barber admitted. “Since that happened, my mental toughness is through the roof. I would put my mental toughness up against anybody. It’s not being arrogant or cocky. It’s just that what I’ve gone through, not many people have, and I have a passion for what I do now because it was almost taken away from me. Once you have something almost taken away from you, you realize what’s important.”

 

Rourke looks forward to future student-athletes who will follow in Barber’s footsteps, and carry themselves in the proper way, impacting those around them. 

 

“It is tremendous that the athletic department has chosen to honor Curtis in this way, recognizing the student-athlete. It is an excellent way to carry on his legacy, and I look forward to that long list of Curtis Jones Award recipients to grow each and every year,” Rourke said. “It can change culture. Young student-athletes can look at that award list and think how they can earn that award, which serves as a perfect teaching point. Jared has helped set that standard.”

 

Barber is the second Mountaineer to garner the Curtis Jones Jr., Award. Wes Tonkery claimed the inaugural award a year ago.