The Barber family has had a long and stellar football history at Minnesota. Dominique Barber's father, Marion Barber Jr., and brother, Marion Barber III (now with the Dallas Cowboys), both starred as running backs for the Gophers.

And after limited playing time during his first two years at the university, Dominique Barber continued to uphold the family tradition, leading the team in tackles (100) in his final season.

Minnesota generally redshirts incoming freshmen, but like his father and brother before him, Barber was on the field as a true freshman. He began his Gophers' career as a strong safety, moving to free safety as a sophomore and junior. His career came full circle as a senior, shifting back to free safety, where he became the third member of his family to attain All-Big Ten Conference status.

Barber was rated as the 42nd-best player at his position in 2003 by Rivals and selected for the Super Prep Midwest Team, which ranked him as the nation's 58th-best player during his senior year at Wayzata High School. He was a Prep Star All-Midwest Region choice and named All-State and All-County his senior season at defensive back. He was an All-Area and All-Conference selection his senior season at running back.

In his final campaign, Barber had one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. He rushed for 911 yards on 138 carries with nine scores, while also recording 25 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns. He also lettered twice in hockey and once in baseball.

Barber was one of only three true freshmen to letter at Minnesota in 2003. He played in nine games, making four tackles (two solo) while breaking up a pass. He shifted to free safety as a sophomore, appearing in 12 games. He collected 13 tackles (10 solos) and blocked the first of three kicks during his career.

In 2006, Barber moved into the starting lineup at free safety, earning All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention. He blocked two kicks on special teams, picked off four passes and deflected four others. He finished fifth on the squad with 74 tackles (47 solos), as he recovered one fumble and caused two others.

As a senior, Barber's shift to strong safety saw him lead the team with 100 tackles (71 solo), picking up second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors in the process. He had one sack, 5 ½ stops for losses and a forced fumble. He recovered three fumbles, advancing two for 53 yards and a touchdown, as he also broke up eight passes.

Positives … Has a well-built frame with broad shoulders, good upper-body muscle tone, especially in the chest and arms, tight waist, good bubble and tapered thighs and calves … Showed marked improvement hustling to the ball as a senior, as he had stretches where he would throttle down and disappear in games earlier in his career … Hard worker in the weight room, but did not show that same work ethic in the classroom … Finally advanced into the mode of watching game tape to prepare for his upcoming opponent, something he did not do his first few years in the program … Has adequate quickness coming out of his backpedal, but is more active and aggressive in run force … Has enough quickness to mirror short-area receivers, showing good explosion coming out of his breaks … Has developed a decent feel for the zone and is aware of the direction of the ball in flight … Has the functional closing burst needed to shrink the gap on the receivers in deep routes … Gets out of his backpedal sharply and is effective on switching off in the zone … Lacks fluid hip swerve and flexibility when turning, but somehow manages to put his body in front of the receiver to prevent the pass … Extends well for the ball in traffic … Fills the hole with force in run support … Has adequate pop when going low to make the wrap-up tackle … As a senior, he did a better job of reading backfield activity, doing a good job of reading the quarterback to get a jump on the ball … Times leaps well and his added bulk as a senior allowed him to win a fair share of jump-ball battles vs. bigger receivers … Uses his hands well to fend off blockers when closing on outside run plays … Gets his head turned to track the ball in flight, and is especially solid when trying to get a jump on screens … Needs a free lane when attacking the backfield on the blitz, but has developed a good feel for taking angles … Added to his resume on special teams, using his elevation well to block a few punts the last two years … More of a downhill player than one who will excel in the deep zone, but has the upper-body strength to make impact hits in space … Stays low in his pads to flow down the line and string out plays … Has enough strength to come up an play nickel linebacker in Cover-2 schemes.

Negatives: Lacks the second gear and timed speed to handle receivers one-on-one on deep routes … Earlier in his career, his motor and work ethic ran hot and cold, but as he matured, he bought into the program, doing the little extras to get better … Has adequate change-of-direction agility and a marginal burst when attempting to recover when a receiver gets behind him … Struggles in the classroom, more out of laziness, but his low Wonderlic score is of concern … Better reacting to plays in front of him, but is slow to read hats and needs to be more alert to double moves … Has good strength, but ballcarriers can break his tackles when he takes a side rather than positioning to wrap and secure … Tends to get a little sloppy tackling in the open field, preferring to do most of his hitting in closed quarters … Sometimes allows too much cushion for receivers on deep routes and then lacks that sudden burst to get back to his man without overextending and lunging … Seems lost while trying to recover after the receiver gets by him … Takes poor angles in pursuit, taking himself out of the play as he will then get overaggressive to compensate (best when he angles and has a clear lane to pursue) … While possessing adequate quickness, he seems to lack that explosive initial step and top-end speed needed to handle assignments in the deep zone … More aggressive in run force, but must keep his hands active to prevent big blockers from getting into his chest … Gets too high in his stance, taking extra steps in transition … Will gather some when having to change direction, lacking suddenness … Despite four INTs as a senior, he lacks natural hands and ball skills, tending to trap the ball more often than extending for it.

Compares To: REED DOUGHTY-Washington … Barber played with alertness and urgency as a senior, so it might be a case of maturing later than expected. He is still a better defender when a play is in front of him than in man coverage and does not have great read-and-react skills. He has adequate playing speed and a marginal burst to recover, but does a good job of handling short-area receivers. His play on special teams will get him his roster spot, but he needs to continue to mature and display a solid work ethic, as he's cut quite a few corners in the past and needs to shed the "lazy" label.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 4.56 in the 40-yard dash … 1.54 10-yard dash … 2.62 20-yard dash … 36-inch vertical jump … 31 7/8-inch arm length … 8 7/8-inch hands … Right-handed … 12/26 Wonderlic score.

Combine: 4.68 in the 40-yard dash … 1.59 10-yard dash … 2.72 20-yard dash … 4.31 20-yard shuttle … 11.68 60-yard shuttle … 7.08 three-cone drill … 34-inch vertical jump … 9'9" broad jump … Bench pressed 225 pounds 23 times.

Attended Wayzata (Minn.) High School, playing football for head coach Brad Anderson … Rated as the 42nd-best player at his position in 2003 by Rivals and selected for the Super Prep Midwest Team, which ranked him as the nation's 58th-best player during his senior year … Prep Star All-Midwest Region choice and named All-State and All-County his senior season at defensive back … All-Area and All-Conference selection his senior season at running back … In his final campaign, Barber had one interception, which he returned for a touchdown … Rushed for 911 yards on 138 carries with nine scores, while also recording 25 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns … Also lettered twice in hockey and once in baseball.

Communication Studies major … Son of Marion and Karen Barber … Father, Marion Jr., is a former NFL and All-Big Ten Conference running back for the Gophers … Brother, Marion III, played running back for the Gophers from 2001-04 and currently plays for the Dallas Cowboys after being selected in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft … Born 8/02/86 … Resides in Plymouth, Minnesota.