Citing depression, anxiety, Huskies receiver Isaiah Renfro announces departure from UW

In a message posted to his Twitter account Sunday afternoon, Huskies receiver Isaiah Renfro announced that he is leaving the University of Washington to focus on his recovery from depression and anxiety, which he cited as the reason he missed spring practices this year.

Renfro, who caught 13 passes for 178 yards as a freshman in 2015, wrote in part that, during the spring, “I was checked in the hospital. I was in a special program for people like me, that taught me how to cope with my problems and what to do when I hit my lowest of lows. I didn’t know how bad I got until it was almost too late.”

Renfro wrote that he was “in a dark place,” but that he now feels “I have a better outlook on life” and needs to step away from football in order to continue taking steps toward improving his health.

“I want to thank Cach Pete, Coach Bush and all the rest of the coaches and staff, for the opportunity and for the continued support. I also want to thank my teammates for allowing me to be a part of the brotherhood that is the football team. And for all the dawg fans out there for making me feel like I was worth something every time I put on that jersey and stepped on the field. This isn’t the end of me, just the end of a certain chapter. I will conquer this, and not let this situation conquer me. I’m on a journey to find my happiness again.”

You can read Renfro’s full message below.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Citing depression, anxiety, Huskies receiver Isaiah Renfro announces departure from UW."