Austin Seferian-Jenkins spoke candidly about his battles with alcohol. during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 12, 2017 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

New York Jets’ tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins may only be 24, but he’s been through a lot.

After a successful college football career with the Washington Huskies, Seferian-Jenkins was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft (38th overall), but only recorded 603 receiving yards there across three seasons, and was cut in September 2016 after a DUI charge. The Jets picked him up on waivers soon afterwards, and he recorded 110 receiving yards in seven games with them, but has been suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the NFL substance abuse policy (in relation to that DUI). In a candid as-told-to piece published Thursday, Seferian-Jenkins spoke to Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News about his battles with alcohol, his seven months of sobriety, and his newfound love for football:

I’M 24 … but going on 54. I obviously wish I would have made better decisions and choices so I wouldn’t have to go through a lot of the things I’ve gone through in my life. In a weird way, I’ve never felt as good as I do today. When I wake up, I’m excited to go play football and excited to get in the meetings. I’m excited to see my friends. I’m excited to see my teammates. I’m excited to see my coaches. I’m excited to practice. I’m excited for life.

I wish I didn’t have to go through the things I did, but everyone makes decisions in their life and you have to man up to them. I feel really good about my life and the current state my life is in and my present day.

…I wouldn’t call it a daily battle. But it’s just something you always have to keep in the back of your mind. I don’t think I’m ever going to go back to the way I was. I remember where I was at and I don’t want to go back there. If you knew where I was at and where I’m at right now, you’d be like, “He’s not doing that again.” So, I know where I’m at right now and I knew where I used to be. I know where I want to go now, because I didn’t know where I wanted to go before. I didn’t have any direction. I didn’t have any purpose. I have a direction and purpose now.

Seferian-Jenkins also speaks in there about living in Nevada with agent Brian Fettner in the offseason, and how Fettner motivated him to train and eat healthy by doing so alongside him. He talks about losing 33 pounds, about the extra focus he’s put in on listening to the Jets’ coaches and improving his on-field technique, and on his lifestyle change has motivated him to hike, run, work out, do Pilates and more instead of drinking. He said his mental approach has changed too, from treating football (and the preparation for it with film study, weight work and more) as a requirement to treating it as a game he loves and one he’s excited about.

We’ll see what that translates to on-field, but from his own comments at least, Seferian-Jenkins has made a pretty amazing lifestyle transformation. And while he’s still relatively young, he’s obviously seen a lot, and is eager to continue with a better part of his life than the one he left. He definitely has the makings of a good comeback story; we’ll see what the next chapter is for him.

[The New York Daily News]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.