Percy Harvin Discusses Anxiety, Finding Place in Gainesville in SI Interview

Percy Harvin opened up in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated's Michael McKnight and explained that he was dealing with anxiety throughout his eight-year NFL career. 

"The best way I can describe it is that I felt 'out of body,'" Harvin said. "My speech was slurring. I didn’t wanna eat. I was gasping for air. You’re so worked up that it’s hard to spit words out."

According to McKnight, anxiety "caused Harvin to play most of his 79 NFL games on little or no sleep."

Now nearly two years removed from his last NFL appearance, Harvin says he's settled into life nicely back in Gainesville, Florida, where he shined as a standout rushing and receiving threat for the Florida Gators. 

"When I say I'm supposed to be here, it's not something I say lightly," Harvin told McKnight. "It's a gut feeling. A following-the-universe-type thing."

Since returning to Gainesville, the 30-year-old—while not officially a member of Florida's coaching staff—has served as a mentor to Gators players under new head coach Dan Mullen. 

"He's young enough that our players have seen him play; they've seen his success in the NFL. So when Percy says, 'Hey, here's the standard; I've done it and it helped me be successful,’'or 'I didn’t, and it cost me,' it's a valuable voice," Mullen said. "I mean, they wanna be him."