TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Bucs offensive lineman Cody Mauch remembers the moment like it was yesterday.

“I was in college; we were on our way to Towson that week for football,” Mauch said. “It was a Monday practice. I was leaving the building, my brother called me and told me, and it was one of those things when he told me I was like no, you’re lying, that’s not real, no way.”

Sept. 13, 2021. It was then Mauch had learned his childhood friend Korbin Steinwehr had taken his own life at the age of 23.

“Kind of shut down the rest of that night and the rest of the week,” Mauch said. “It’s one of the hardest things to hear when one your good friends from high school, that happens. Struggled throughout that week especially and just knowing the pain his family was going through; it was one of the hardest weeks I’ve ever gone through.”

As part of the NFL’s ‘My Cause, My Cleats’ initiative, Mauch will wear custom cleats when the Bucs play the Raiders to support Korbin’s Krew, a team started by Korbin’s family to raise awareness about suicide prevention.

“It means everything,” he said. “I’m kicking myself for not thinking of doing it last year. We’re good friends with their family; it’s such a small town so we’re all so close. When I asked his sister if I could do this, she just started crying it was just so emotional for. I’m just so happy I’m able to do this.”

If you would like to donate to Korbin’s Krew, here’s a link to their page. All donations are 100% tax deductible and benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), funding research, education, advocacy, and support for those affected by suicide.