A Kansas State football player has come out gay, saying that he wants to help other young LGBT people who are struggling with their sexuality.

Offensive tackle Scott Frantz told ESPN that he revealed his sexuality to his teammates during a team-building exercise last year that involved divulging a personal secret.

“I came out to my teammates, and I've never felt so loved and so accepted ever in my life than when I did that,” Frantz said. “And ever since then it's been great. I've grown so much closer to my teammates since. So it's been an amazing experience.”

“So the very first time I said those words were in front of, you know, 110, 120 football guys," Frantz said. "So you can imagine how scared I was, how nervous I was. ... This could go either really bad or could go really good. And thankfully my teammates embraced me with open arms, and it was great."

A week after the announcement, Frantz came out to his family. He said that he had known that he was gay since the fifth grade.

“I ultimately am sharing this story because I want to reach out to all the other kids who are just like me who feel like they can't be accepted, they can't be loved, because of who they are,” he said. “I spent my whole childhood hating myself because of who I was. I was angry. I was mad. I was depressed, at times.”

According to ESPN, Frantz, a sophomore, and incoming Arizona freshman defensive end My-King Johnson will be the first two openly gay active FBS players this upcoming season.