BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Neutz was a superstar wide receiver for the University at Buffalo from 2009 to 2013.
Neutz is the all-time school leader in receiving touchdowns with 31, and while he shined on the field, there was a bigger battle off it, in his mind.
Neutz struggled his anxiety and depression since the age of 6, but it wasn't until his junior year when he broke his wrist that he was introduced to painkillers, which only made matters worse. Alex began suppressing his emotions with pills.
2 On Your Side's Brian Chojnacki asked Neutz about the effects of his addiction on his life.
"If you could describe in the most rarest and purest emotion possible what did taking drugs do to your life?" Chojnacki asked.
Neutz replied, "Oh man, it destroyed every single aspect of my life. There was not a single part that went undestroyed."
Neutz admitted that as soon as he got a hold of opioids that it artificially made matters worse, although his anxious thoughts were decreasing in an unhealthy way.
"The second I took the first couple pills, there were no stress and anxiety. I was in my own little world. I was happy, no stress, no depression, no anxiety. I was in my own little world, I was chilling," Neutz said.
"The difference was there were 25 or 30 kids having surgery in the locker room, so there were painkillers around, so I started to get some from this guy, and it came to a point where I wasn't taking them for pain, I was taking them for mental health, taking them to escape reality, escape the pressure and escape the depression. And it became something I leaned on to get them through a rough day."
Neutz finished his career at UB and was invited to join the Cincinnati Bengals as the window to play in the National Football League was open. That opportunity was shut closed too soon as his NFL career took a backseat to his attachment to drugs.
"When I was at Cincinnati, it got to a point where I didn't want to play football anymore," Nuetz said. "I didn't want to be there. I was miserable, I was depressed, my mindset was if I go back to Buffalo, I can find drugs, I can do pills, I can do this, so I didn't put forth my best effort in Cincinnati, so then I got cut."
After being cut, his football career was over, and Alex entered one of the darkest two-and-a-half year periods of his life. It wasn't until a friend told his parents that he needed help, which led to an intervention from his family.
Alex decided to enter rehab.
Chojnacki said, "I think where people can most relate to the story, how you overcame that process and how you were able to mentor, coach or psych yourself out, saying like, 'Hey, let's go one day at a time.' What was that process like when you were in the thick of things?"
Neutz replied, "It was tough. Even when I was in rehab, I was still messing up and failing drug tests. Like you said, you have to take it one day a time. There were a lot of awful days, a lot of OK days, some great days. But the toughest thing: you have to totally reinvent who you are as a person. You have to find new hobbies, find new friends, because if you went to the mall or movies high on pills, going to the movies sober isn't fun any more."
Reinvent himself is exactly what Alex did. After finding a lifestyle of sobriety, Alex was able to team up with Kids Escaping Drugs to share his story and inspire as many people as he possibly could.
"People were like, 'Oh, you have a great story. It could really help someone. Will you come share with my team or my school?' " Neutz said. "One thing led to another, and I teamed up with Kids Escaping Drugs and all the great people over there, and it became a good team work partner situation, so I went around, face to face programs, and it became something good."
Chojnacki replied, "So doors started opening up for you? Do you believe everything happens for a reason?"
Neutz replied, "Oh yeah for sure, absolutely. I didn't always, but as I get older and going through this experience more and more, I realize that's a thing."
When Alex isn't sharing his story and giving back to the community, he says most of his time now is spent making memories with his three year old son and his family.