Peyton Barber: 'Auburn will always be No. 1 in my heart'

Peyton Barber: 'Auburn will always be No. 1 in my heart'Peyton Barber: 'Auburn will always be No. 1 in my heart'

Sept. 14, 2017

By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the 2017-2018 season this Sunday, a week after everybody else due to Hurricane Irma, and that means Auburn fans will get to see former running back Peyton Barber make his sophomore debut at the next level.

Barber went undrafted in 2016 despite leaving early for the NFL after his redshirt sophomore season at Auburn. However, he signed with Tampa Bay after the draft and made the team out of training camp. As a rookie last fall, he rushed for 223 yards and a touchdown, and now he's back for Year 2 with new goals and new ambitions for the upcoming season.

"I always try to set my goals high," Barber said. "I want to be a starter. I know I'm going to have to work hard in order to get there, but I believe in my heart that I can do it."

For those close to Barber, they know that if he puts his mind to something, he's all in.

It's no different in the classroom. This past January, shortly after his rookie season concluded, Barber returned to Auburn where he continued to take classes and work towards getting his degree. He plans to do the same after the current season, and if all goes according to plan, he will finish next spring and walk with the other graduates in May.

"I promised my mom that I would do it," Barber said. "At the same time, just growing up with everything I've been through, I had a lot of people tell me I wouldn't graduate high school let alone make it through college. That's just another way to prove people wrong."

Growing up, Barber struggled in the classroom with dyslexia and ADHD. But during his three years at Auburn, he was three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll.

"That's one of the things that was important for us, not just for him, but also showing others that if you put the work in, you can accomplish all of your goals," Barber's father Ken said. "One of the goals that he had when he first got to Auburn was that he wanted to graduate. With the great academic program that Auburn has, it was a big plus."

"[Auburn] is still a home away from home. A lot of the teachers and the counselors and the tutors and everybody, he's still very close with. And that will be a life-long relationship that he'll continue to have even after he graduates."

Just two weeks ago, Barber was back on campus for Auburn's first game against Georgia Southern. He watched his old teammates take down the Eagles, 41-7, and open the season with a win.

"I miss it," Barber said before the game. "I'm glad for the opportunity that I had here, but it was time to move on to bigger and better things.

"But Auburn will always be No. 1 in my heart."

Greg Ostendorf is a Staff Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf