Former Auburn running back Peyton Barber will take the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the first time this season on Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

The Bucs’ first game against the Miami Dolphins was postponed due to Hurricane Irma.

Barber, who went undrafted in 2016 and later signed with the Bucs, rushed for 223 yards and a touchdown as a rookie.

He has “new goals and new ambitions” this year, according to a report from Greg Ostendorf of AuburnTigers.com.

“I always try to set my goals high,” Barber reportedly 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.”

Barber returned to Auburn in January to take classes and work toward a degree. He plans to do the same after this season, the report said. He expects to finish with his degree next spring.

“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.”

Barber was a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll during his playing career at Auburn.

“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 reportedly 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.”

Barber, who played for Auburn from 2013 to 2015, made an appearance on the plains for the Tigers’ season opener against Georgia Southern.

“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.”