Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Tennessee freshman quarterback Brian Maurer passes during the Vols' matchup with SEC East rival Georgia on Oct. 5, 2019, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
University of Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer shared his battles with anxiety and depression on his Instagram account Friday, which coincided with the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Maurer, who played in eight games and made four starts for the Volunteers as a freshman in 2019, even detailed his intention to commit suicide earlier this year.
"On Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, I planned to take my own life," Maurer posted. "I thought I had lost my battle with depression and that my pain had come to an end. As I was going to do it, I said, 'God, if this isn't your plan for me, please send me a sign.'
"Two minutes later, my mom called me with my baby nephew, Jeremiah, and said she was just calling to say she loved me. I then knew that by ending my pain, I would be causing so much more to the people who loved me."
Maurer urged those in a similar situation to "reach out to receive help." The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Ocala, Florida, said he has battled anxiety and depression since middle school.
"In the seventh grade, my father was sentenced to 25 years in prison around the same time my mom and stepdad split up, causing me to have to grow up early," he wrote.
Maurer said he was a junior at West Port High School when he lost one of his best friends to suicide. He added that two more of his friends died as the result of gun violence the following year.
"I always thought that, as a guy, I had to have tough skin and to not let anything bother me," Maurer wrote.
A four-star recruit in Tennessee's 2019 signing class, Maurer completed 35 of 75 passes for 541 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions while appearing in eight games and starting four last season. Two of Maurer's starts were against Georgia, which included a 73-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway, and Alabama, which included a 2-yard score off a quarterback sneak.
Maurer had to leave the Alabama game due to injury late in the first quarter, but his rushing touchdown was the first by a Tennessee quarterback against the Crimson Tide since Casey Clausen's in 2003.
