Barber, Petteway persevered through hard times

The Cactus Bowl?

Five years ago, when Barber and Petteway were raw freshmen but talented enough to earn playing time, it was the Orange Bowl in which they played.

How much?

“I was on the kickoff team,” Petteway noted. “We scored 70 points. That’s how much.”

And Barber, he had proved himself over and over during the season, so much so that he had a season high six tackles as a true freshman in that Orange Bowl.

Oh, did we mention West Virginia won that game 70-33 for its 10th win of the season?

This college stuff was going to be easy, it seemed.

“We definitely were spoiled as freshmen,” Petteway admitted. “We walked in on Tavon (Austin), Geno (Smith) and Stedman (Bailey). We had to carry our weight, but it wasn’t so much on our shoulders.

“The year after we learned how much it takes to be a winning team.”

That next year, WVU won its first five games, then fell completely apart.

“We understand how hard it is to win a game in college football,” Petteway said.

But what a freshman season it was for the entire freshman class that year, some of whom remain as fifth-year seniors.

“A lot of the seniors will probably say it was the greatest time of our lives. Freshmen, walking into the Orange Bowl. After that game we thought it would be four years of BCS bowls, so it’s been kind of a bummer not to make it back to a bowl of that caliber,” Petteway said. “We want to go out on top by winning this one.”

Petteway and Barber have been a big part of keeping WVU together through some tough times — times for the team and times for themselves.

As Petteway, an undersized linebacker out of Steubenville, Ohio, moved into his junior year, he suffered a serious knee injury during preseason that ended his season.

Toward the end of that same season, after playing in 10 games and starting in seven, Barber suffered a similar injury, then fought through an infection that required two further surgeries and kept him out for the next season.

Tony Gibson, the defensive coordinator, knows what they have been through.

“I was here when Jared got hurt,” Gibson said, returning to West Virginia for that season. “I wasn’t coaching linebackers then but I watched him build back up.”

Gibson watched Barber as he sat out, acting as an unofficial assistant coach, involved in everything.

“He got a lot closer with us because game day, he was on the headsets. He took that role as being able to help the other guys out while learning so much,” Gibson said.

And this year, Barber came back and played at Mike and performed at the top of his game.

“To see him come in and do what he did this year, that’s a special kid,” Gibson said.

It was no different with Petteway.

“Shaq, the same thing. He got hurt after his first year here. Who would have ever thought he’d be in the position he is today? He’s playing, got his degree. I went over last week for the 17 guys who graduated. They said that was an all-time high here at West Virginia,” Gibson said.

Barber remembers the moment well, although he says he won’t got back and look at the film of it.

“It was a power pass,” Barber said. “I saw the backside guard pull and I bit up on it and the running back just took my legs from under me.”

His ACL, he was sure, had been torn.

“I tore this twice,” Barber said, pointing to his right shoulder.

He wasn’t through.

“I tore this once,” Barber added, pointing to his left shoulder. “I tore my left knee. Those were all bad, but an ACL tear is something different. You know right away.”

There he was, in a house filled with 60,000 people, all alone with his thoughts.

“Can I play again? How long will I be out? My season is over. Every negative thing you can think of at the moment goes through your mind,” Barber said.

Petteway was there when that happened. He had been through his injury already and was back walking, but not yet playing.

“We feel like brothers,” Petteway said. “Me and Jared, there’s been times he’s told me he wants me to move back to North Carolina with him. When he got hurt, I was already back up and walking. So when I saw him go down, it hurt me a lot more because I’d already made it over my hump.”

As close as they are, the two don’t discuss the injuries.

“We’re superstitious,” Petteway said.

Both know how fragile a football career is and were reminded of it again this year when safety Karl Joseph, a senior in the midst of an All-American season, went down with a torn ACL, leading them to counsel him.

“Karl comes and asks us questions — ‘Does your knee hurt when you run’ and we try to be a support staff for him,” Petteway said.

Now the two face their final game, the end of a long and winding road.

“This is my last game, maybe forever. I’m emotional,” Petteway said.

He’s hoping that the NFL may come knocking.

“I think everyone who plays college football for five years has the dream of playing in the NFL. I can only worry about what I can control. I’ll train and work out,” he said.