TAMPA, Fla. — According to a survey done by the NCAA this year, more than 60 percent of male college student-athletes suffer from a mental health condition, and many don’t speak out about it. 

Citrus High School senior guard Draves Davis is hoping his struggles can inspire other athletes to keep pushing forward.

When you look at Draves, you see an average teenage boy, but his mind tells him otherwise.

He told Spectrum Sports 360's Katya Guillaume, “It's just a constant battle with yourself to push and keep on going."

Draves suffers from severe generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks, an illness that impacts his daily life.

“The anxiety was something that was just always pushing back and I had to fight with my whole life,” he said. 

His mom Kim said growing up, nothing really worked. 

“Because we know him," she continued, "and in certain circumstances, you can see it come all over him and you can see the way his eyes ... and he'll just kind of get a blank stare and you know, oh goodness, here it is.” 

He’ll fidget, and shake his legs, and when things get bad, he’ll keep himself occupied by watching documentaries on his phone. 

Draves said, “It was something, it's kind of brainless at times. You can just sit there and get soaked into what is on the TV and not have to worry about other things going on.”

He has constantly battled the voice in his head telling him he wasn’t good enough, but that changed when he met his fourth-grade teacher, Miss Robinson.

“I finally had a teacher who went the extra mile and did all the paperwork and recommended me and really did the actual hard steps of trying to get me into programs at school and try to get me to help outside of school,” Draves said. 

The negatives turned positive, and the "I cant’s" turned to "let’s try," which is how football soon became his therapy.

When you look around his room, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the highlight, a team he watched growing up with his father.

“Whenever I just started watching it and watching it, watching it and just watching the Bucs play, was kind of like I can be there,” he said, so, the work started, but it wasn’t easy. 

Kim continued, “It was hard to watch sometimes because you could see other kids excelling, and they're athletic naturally. And so when you have a child that you want, you know, they want to be good and they struggle with it, and it's not natural, it's hard as a parent to watch.”

Like many times before, Draves struggled to believe he could be a great football player, but looking out on the Citrus High School football field, he’s reminded of the things he accomplished. 

“The hard work and dedication it took to step out in the field every Friday or Thursday. Just overcome each battle in every play. Was it tough? Always, but not overwhelming enough to where I would stop," Draves said.

He’ll tell you that’s because of his football coach McKinley Franklin, someone who believed in him and saw past the struggles.

Coach Franklin is known for raising men on the football field, not just training athletes.

“My hope was that, that that I would be able to give to athletes. Something that I didn't have and that's a little bit of hope,” Coach Franklin said.

Every practice, Draves knows his coach has him.

“I’m a kid person," Coach Franklin added, "and so sometimes that's all it takes is just being a kid person and understanding your athletes and they'll give me the world.”

Even if that means leaving everything you’ve got on the practice field. 

Having people who believed in him in his corner helped him excel in a sport he once knew nothing about.

Now, Draves is preparing for an opportunity to play at the Scout Trout All American Bowl in January.

“At that moment then," Coach Franklin said, "I knew that Draves had totally bought into what I was trying to provide for him and I knew that I wasn’t crazy because the naysayers say this kid isn’t going to make it.”

He proved them wrong. Draves is one of only two Citrus County football players who got the invite. 

He said, “Nothing that ever really occurred to me until it showed up. An opportunity that was provided that wasn’t even a thought in my head.” 

Now he hopes his story can inspire others to believe in themselves and know that there are people out there who truly want to see them succeed.