Auburn Running Back Peyton Barber Reveals He Declared for NFL Draft Because His Mother Is Homeless

That’s a great reason to go pro.

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Auburn running back Peyton Barber surprised some people last month when he decided to leave school early and declare for the 2016 NFL Draft. It didn’t exactly come out of nowhere—he rushed for more than 1,000 yards for the Tigers last season—but because he waited so long to do it and declared just minutes before the deadline to do so, it caught some analysts off guard.

As it turns out, Barber spent a lot of time thinking about what to do. But he ultimately decided to go pro, and he decided to do it because his mother is currently homeless.

“My mother is homeless right now,” he said today in Indianapolis, where he is taking part in the NFL Combine. “Right now, she’s staying with my sister. It’s her and her three kids staying in an apartment back home.”

That’s a great reason to go pro, and it makes it pretty easy to root for Barber moving forward, regardless of whether or not you think he made the right decision about the draft.

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[via Eye on Football]

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