Former Auburn DL Nick Fairley has spent the first few years of his NFL career playing for the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams.

This offseason, the Mobile, Alabama, native signed with the New Orleans Saints, where he hopes to be part of a defensive turnaround for a team that gave up the most points in the NFL last year.

Playing for the Saints holds special meaning for Fairley, too. According to AL.com, Fairley dreamed of playing for the Saints as a youngster:

“I remember sitting in front of the TV watching them with my dad when they played Tampa Bay one year,” Fairley said. “I can just remember going, ‘Man, look at those guys out there.’ I told my father, ‘I wish one day I’m able to play in that same dome just right up the road.'”

As a free agent this offseason, Fairley got a chance to visit the team he grew up admiring:

“When I went there on a visit (before signing) and I walked into the facility, I got chill bumps just being there,” Fairley said. “Being close to home, I grew up a Saints fan, watching them when I was younger. Now for me to go back and play for the team that I rooted for, it feels real good.”

Fairley will join a Saints defensive line that added DT Sheldon Rankins from Louisville in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.