It is Mental Health Awareness Week, and the entire Texas Longhorns program is advocating for more support. In doing so, coach Steve Sarkisian has urged the football community to stand in support of college athletes, who face more mental battles than previous generations.

“Mental health is a very big issue right now in college athletics,” Sarkisian said in a video released on the program’s official X page. “So much has changed from NIL to revenue sharing to social media. There’s so much more added pressure on players and student-athletes these days.

“We’ve got to do a great job as an athletic department in supporting them so they can be in the best frame of mind to not only play well but just to be healthy and to be great human beings. And I think we’ve got a responsibility to support them in that.”

Steve Sarkisian was one of the five people who spoke in the video, but he had the longest speaking time. The others include a clinical behavioral health director, Ashley Harmon; a sophomore soccer player, Ashlyn Anderson; the director of volleyball and head volleyball coach, Jerritt Elliot; and junior offensive lineman, Trevor Grosby.

The Texas HC has his own share of mental health struggles that he has talked about in the past. He got his second head coaching job with the USC Trojans after a decent stint with the Washington Huskies. However, his time at USC had a sorrowful ending that led to his battles against depression and anxiety. He was in the midst of his second season with the program when his repeated issues with alcohol abuse led to his firing.

According to reports, Sarkisian attended a pre-practice meeting a day after his team’s loss, but his assistants were forced to send him home after appearing intoxicated. Even some of his players had reportedly smelled alcohol in his breath. He was initially ordered to take an indefinite leave of absence before he was fired the next day.

Following his firing, he was said to have hit rock bottom, admitting that the period was a “very difficult time.” To add to his disappointment, the $30 million lawsuit he filed against the Trojans, alleging the program fired him rather than helping him with his issues, was unsuccessful.

However, he soon picked himself up, went for treatment, and left his past behind him. Today, he is several years into his sobriety journey. He uses his experience to remove the stigma of seeking help while reminding athletes that “it is okay not to be okay.” His longtime friend David Mardsen describes his story as “one of the greatest comeback stories ever.”

Arch Manning is staying off social media

Contrary to the case with many, where a social media break comes as a result of mental health battles, Arch Manning has an entirely different reason for his break. The quarterback, a devout Christian, based his decision to abstain from social media on his religious beliefs. His father explained it as a sacrifice he made for Lent, a 40-day spiritual journey Christians embark on before Easter.

“I mean, he’s 21 now, and he doesn’t even resemble the kid that went off to school. You know, he gave up social media for Lent, and I loved it,” Cooper Manning said on the UT Stampede podcast. “He called me more than I’ve ever been called a like, because he couldn’t get on his phone, and he goes, Dad, I think I like who I am better, not, you know, scrolling around. And so I think he’s just growing up and, you know, having new interests and evolving. And I think that’s what college is about.

“And I think that’s why it’s important to stay, you know, stay a while and be a, you know, turn into a, you know, watch a young man turn into a man, and I think he’s really lucky to have his brother there,” Cooper Manning added.