Texas CB Kobe Boyce stepping away from football

The Texas Longhorns secondary took another hit on Saturday morning when junior cornerback Kobe Boyce released a statement on Twitter saying that he’s stepping away from football to focus on his mental health as he battles depression.

“For a few years now I have been battling depression and let all of my emotions build up and it wasn’t a good feeling,” Boyce wrote. “I used to be scared of discussing this and kept it all to myself and anyone who is going through the same thing please talk to someone. Everyone is struggling with something in life especially in these times. Take care of yourself and your mental health because you won’t be able to operate in anything you do if your head is not in the right place. That is where I felt I was at and I am going to be taking a step away from football and work on myself.

“I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, friend[s] and family of course for being with me on this journey. It wasn’t what I expected but I definitely learned a lot about myself and learned some valuable life lessons in this time. I will continue as a student at the University of Texas and will continue on the journey of getting my degree. This decision wasn’t easy to make but I feel like it was much needed. I appreciate all the fans and the support that you have shown me in the years from a recruit to now. I will always be a Longhorn and I hope you guys can bring back a Big 12 Championship and a Natty. Love you all and I’m excited for my new journey.”

The fourth-year junior was one of the final prospects recruited by former head coach Charlie Strong in the 2017 class, eventually signing with Tom Herman as a raw, consensus three-star prospect with plenty of upside due to his athleticism.

Boyce redshirted in 2017 and then started two games as a redshirt freshman, making 10 tackles and recording a pass breakup. In an inexperienced secondary in 2019, Boyce began the season by starting the first three games and ended up breaking up five passes to lead the team, but struggled at times and finished with only four tackles.

In 2020, Boyce was expected to compete for a backup role behind juniors Jalen Green and D’Shawn Jamison.