Meet Peyton Barber, the Savior of Auburn's 2015 Football Team

ATLANTA — Peyton Barber sat quietly and stone-faced in the media room for the first seven minutes of the 10-minute press conference in the bowels of the Georgia Dome following Auburn's season-opening victory over Louisville.

If you hadn't witnessed what he'd just done, it would have been impossible to guess that he was filled with joy.

Barber had just rushed 24 times for 115 yards in the 31-24 win, and he did so on the fly after fellow running backs Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson left the game with injuries.

Hidden behind that stoic face was a sense of relief for Barber, who didn't carry the 5-star status of Thomas coming out of high school, nor the potential of Robinson, who set the junior college rushing record with 2,387 yards in 2013 for Georgia Military College.

"I texted coach [Gus] Malzahn on Thursday," Barber said when he finally got a question.

"At midnight," Malzahn interjected.

"I was worried about some things," Barber continued, "and he pretty much just told me not to worry about [the depth chart], stay focused and be ready for the game."

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It turns out Barber is the least of Malzahn's worries.

Through two games, Barber has rushed for 240 yards, one touchdown and has been the savior of the 2-0 Tigers. He has elevated the once-overlooked running back position into a dependable option for a team that's craving stability.

"He's had two back-to-back weeks and it's all about production," Malzahn said after the win over FCS foe Jacksonville State, according to quotes released by Auburn. "He's protecting the ball. A lot of those were hard yards at the end. You saw him on the flair pass and then we gave it to him the next time when they were all bunched up. He just projected himself in the end zone. He's in a good spot."

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Not only is he in a good spot, he saved Auburn from potential embarrassment against the Gamecocks.

He rushed for 125 yards, scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime and took a critical swing pass on 3rd-and-9 the play before scoring, dodged three defenders and willed his way to a first down.

"It was unbelievable," Malzahn said of that third-down reception.

The opportunity to become Auburn's first-team running back has been Barber's goal since stepping foot on campus.

"This is what I've been waiting on," Barber said after the opener. "I've been praying for things like this to happen, and God has blessed me."

John Bazemore/Associated Press

This is the kind of player Barber is—soft-spoken and patient. Those who saw him up close and personal in high school knew that this was bound to happen eventually.

"We were kind of frustrated that he wasn't playing," said Howie DeCristofaro, Barber's coach at Milton High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. "We knew how good he was."

So how did Barber fall through the cracks and become the dark horse in the three-man running back battle to begin with? 

The 3-star prospect in the class of 2013 flipped from Ole Miss to Auburn shortly before national signing day that year, when he visited then-first-year Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. That class included highly touted junior college back Cameron Artis-Payne, with Barber serving as the insurance policy rather than one of the featured pieces of Malzahn's first Auburn class.

"His junior year, we played a preseason classic, and he tore a ligament in his ankle," DeCristofaro said. "In that scrimmage game, he ran for 180 yards in a half and got hurt on the last play of the drive in which we were going to take him out.

"We kept trying to tell the recruiters, but you know how it is, they all know better than we do. We're just high school coaches and don't know anything."

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Barber missed the majority of his junior season, but he came back to rush for 1,713 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior thanks in part to his dedication in the weight room.

That wasn't a surprise either. Barber's work ethic and dedication to making himself the best player he can be were attributes that DeCristofaro was well aware of.

"He's a kid in high school who power-cleaned 340 pounds—more than [Milton and Auburn] teammate Carl Lawson," DeCristofaro said. "That's how strong he was. Cleaned 340 and benched 385. In a weightlifting meet, he back-squatted 585 below parallel and won a state title."

Understandably, Barber flew under the radar as a prospect. The injury, coupled with his understated demeanor he displayed in the Georgia Dome press room after the season-opener versus Louisville, is par for the course for him.

Simply put, he has always let his play do the talking.

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"He was the quiet guy of the bunch," DeCristofaro said. "He didn't really ever say much of anything. He just worked, got better."

That hard work has paid off.

"He has waited his turn," Malzahn said after the Louisville win. "He's had a great attitude. He's a fine young man. He's very tough on himself. He's got a chance to be a very good running back."

So far, he's not only a good running back, he's been Auburn's most valuable player.

What about the future?

Thomas and Robinson should be up to speed when Auburn hits the road to open SEC play against LSU on Saturday afternoon in Death Valley. While they will still be part of the offense, Barber has earned not only the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, but Auburn's offense should center around the running back position more now than the staff initially planned.

Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee can't trust quarterback Jeremy Johnson as much now as they did prior to the season. All five of his interceptions were horrible decisions, and his inability to read coverage has to be a major red flag despite the confidence Malzahn has placed in Johnson publicly.

"I need to help Jeremy, too," Malzahn said, per Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com. "I need to help put him in some better situations, it all works together."

Better situations mean less responsibility, which means you should get used to Barber. 

He's going to be around for a while.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.