Nearly a year after surviving a gunshot wound to the head, Florida State linebacker Ethan Pritchard’s goal is in reach – walking onto the field at Doak Campbell Stadium for the Seminoles’ season opener.
FSU opens the 2026 season Aug. 29 against New Mexico State at 7 p.m., a date that would mark 363 days since the shooting that nearly claimed Ethan’s life.
For the 19-year-old, the moment would represent far more than a return to a football stadium. It would symbolize the culmination of months of rehabilitation, perseverance and faith.
“I don’t want to put no specific time standpoint, but I will tell you that I’m going to walk out there on the field, come first game,” Ethan told the Tallahassee Democrat.
That confidence stems from steady – and what some see as miraculous – progress throughout his recovery.
In mid-June, a Facebook video showing Ethan taking steps on his own without a walker in front of family members quickly spread online. The moment came just about 24 hours before his 19th birthday and served as another milestone in a rehabilitation journey that has continually exceeded expectations.
“It has really been a surreal moment,” he said. “Just knowing that I came this far from being shot in the head. That has been a blessing in itself. I’m very thankful and blessed for sure.”
‘I beat death’: A recovery built on perspective
Ethan has approached rehabilitation with the same mentality he once brought to football workouts.
Rather than focusing on the physical challenges ahead, he views surviving the shooting as the hardest obstacle he will ever face.
“I really don’t feel that I had any trouble for real,” Ethan said. “I feel like I already beat the hard part. I beat death. This is just getting my body back.”
He wears a symbol of that victory each day. Around his neck hangs a gold chain with a diamond encrusted boxing glove pendant — signifying how he is “beating the shooting.” Next to that are two of his late mother’s rings that he proudly wears to keep the memory of his mom close.
But even with the daily wins, the road to recovery has not been without its frustrations.
Early on, Ethan worried he was not making enough progress. But over the past two months, he has regained weight, improved his mobility and begun to see tangible results from his work.
“I was just getting in my head and all that, but once I started seeing the progress build, it was on from here,” Ethan said.
He self-documents his improvements on his social media platforms, including his Facebook page called the Ethan Pritchard epstrongfsu #35 Family Update Page.
While acknowledging he still has a long road ahead, Ethan remains focused on incremental improvements.
Ethan Pritchard’s workout routine: ‘Getting better every day’
He starts his therapy sessions at the FSU football facility by being welcomed with fist bumps from teammates and athletic training staff.
He jokes with players and smiles as he warms up on the bicycle before doing exercises focused on different muscle groups.
In the weight room, Ethan grits his teeth as he pushes one more rep with encouragement and guidance from FSU Athletics director of rehabilitation Jerry Latimer.
He moves through the space with his walker — from the Smith machine, a weight training apparatus, to the dumbbells.
The physical therapy doesn’t stop in the FSU training facility. It follows him home.
He has a walker at the bottom of the stairs leading up from the garage to his apartment. He steadies himself as he ascends the narrow staircase with the railing on one side and the wall until he reaches the top, where he has a second walker ready to assist him in getting through his living space.
Ethan pushes himself to get stronger so that one day he won’t need a walker anymore.
“One step better each and every day just to get better,” he said. “It can be this or that. It’s just getting better every day.”
Remembering — but not dwelling on — the shooting
The events of Aug. 31 remain vivid for Ethan, unlike many trauma patients.
The night after Florida State’s season-opening victory over Alabama, the then-true freshman was spending time with relatives when he was shot in the back of the head. He was rushed to the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and placed in intensive care while doctors monitored his condition.
“That’s the thing, I remembered from the time that happened to the time I woke up,” he said.
For weeks, the shooting occupied his thoughts as he recovered in the hospital and later at a rehabilitation facility in Jacksonville. But returning home and reconnecting with the FSU football helped shift his focus toward the future.
“It has been nothing but love,” Ethan said. “Since the first day they got here and saw me, it has been nothing but love.”
He credits coach Mike Norvell for being a consistent presence throughout his recovery.
“He’s been the same since day one,” Ethan said. “He’s been there, caring and outgoing.”
While he’s not working out, he’s taking online courses and studying public administration. This past spring, he was named Academic All-Star of the Week for his efforts in the classroom.
Back in the football facility, around teammates and immersed in rehabilitation, Ethan has had little time to dwell on the trauma.
“Now that I am back in the facility, back around the team, back around everybody, I didn’t really have the time to think,” he said.
How Ethan Pritchard’s father has been his inspiration
Throughout the recovery process, no one has meant more to Ethan than his father, Earl.
Earl remained by his son’s bedside throughout his hospitalization, offering constant encouragement alongside Ethan’s grandmother. Their bond was forged long before the shooting.
Ethan’s mother died when he was about 18 months old, leaving Earl to raise him on his own.
“A lot of people don’t know that he’s been there my whole life, from the time my Mama passed away when I was like 18 months, and after that, it was just me and him,” Ethan said.
Norvell has frequently spoken about Earl’s impact on his son and the close relationship the two share. Following Florida State’s victory over East Texas A&M last season, Earl was invited to break the ceremonial rock in the locker room — a gesture that reflected the program’s admiration for the family’s resilience.
“He’s a wonderful man,” Norvell said after that postgame. “Being with him, I know it’s so very hard, and I know it’s so hard for anybody to have to go through, but he told me earlier this week, he said, ‘I know where my boy wants to be.’ So, I’m going to go stand in place for him to see the team and just the embrace for that, like it’s special.”
For Ethan, the motivation has always been personal.
“He’s been here my whole life,” he said. “Everything I conquered, I dedicated to my dad.”
A roar at Doak Campbell Stadium, Ethan Pritchard will never forget
One of the most emotional moments of Ethan’s recovery came Nov. 15, when he returned to Doak Campbell Stadium for FSU’s game against Virginia Tech.
Fans greeted him during the Legacy Walk, and later, when he appeared on the videoboard during the first quarter, the crowd of 64,937 erupted in applause.
“That was crazy. I didn’t expect that,” he said. “It’s still crazy to this day.”
The ovation reinforced why he chose Florida State.
“Doak Campbell Stadium is a different type of stadium, especially at night,” Ethan said. “Who wouldn’t want to come to Florida State and put on?”
The university continued to recognize his perseverance, presenting him with the Doc Fauls Rise Above Adversity Award during the Golden Nole Awards on April 30. Yet even that honor could not match the emotion of hearing Doak Campbell Stadium celebrate his recovery.
“It was similar,” Ethan said. “But like I said, it ain’t nothing like Doak Campbell because that arena, all I heard was a roar. That was crazy.”
He said he is most proud of how his recovery united the Florida State community — teammates, coaches, staff and fans alike.
Now, he hopes to experience that feeling again when the Seminoles open the season against New Mexico State. This time, however, he does not want to be recognized for surviving.
He wants to walk onto the field as a conqueror under his own power.
While he dreams of one day taking the field in pads, helmet and the garnet and gold uniform, Ethan’s message remains the same for anyone facing adversity.
“Just keep pushing,” he said. “Anybody can do it. So just keep pushing.”
Florida State 2026 schedule
Alicia Devine contributed to this story. Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. Email him at PHolland@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: He ‘beat death.’ Now FSU’s Ethan Pritchard vows to walk into Doak
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
