Gophers great Marion Barber III found dead at 38
Former NFL running back Marion Barber was found dead at his apartment in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday, according to the Dallas Star-Telegram.
Frisco Police Department issued a statement to the Star-Telegram: “Frisco Police responded to a welfare concern at an apartment believed to be leased by Marion Barber. Frisco Police along with the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating an unattended death at the location.”
A cause of death is unknown.
Barber, who grew up playing at Wayzata High School in the Twin Cities, starred for the University of Minnesota from 2001-04, rushing for 3,276 yards and 35 touchdowns. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Barber played with the Cowboys until 2010 before finishing his career in 2011 with the Chicago Bears. He rushed for 4,780 yards and 53 touchdowns in seven NFL seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2007.
"We are heartbroken by the tragic death of Marion Barber III," the Dallas Cowboys said in a statement. "Marion was an old-school, hard-nosed football player who ran with the will to win every down. He had a passion for the game and love for his coaches and teammates."
The Barber family is among the best to don football pads in Minnesota history. Marion's father, Marion Jr., and brother, Dominique, also played in the NFL. His youngest brother, Thomas, played linebacker for the Gophers from 2016-19.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.