NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Florida State football player Ethan Pritchard had an emotional reunion with his teammates at practice on Friday.
Pritchard was off the team after he was shot in the back of the head a day after FSU upset the Alabama Crimson Tide in August.
The linebacker spent several weeks in a hospital after the shooting.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Florida State Seminoles linebacker Ethan Pritchard during the first day of practice at the Albert J. Dunlap Athletic Training Facility on the campus of Florida State University in July 2025 in Tallahassee, Fla. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
After he was discharged, the freshman entered a rehabilitation center in Jacksonville. He rang a bell and received a standing ovation when he was released from the center on Thursday.
FLORIDA STATE HONORS ETHAN PRITCHARD, WHO WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD, DURING GAME AGAINST EAST TEXAS A&M
He is expected to participate in the Seminoles’ home finale against Virginia Tech on Saturday. Pritchard got around in an electric wheelchair when he arrived at practice Friday to visit with teammates and coaches.
Florida State linebacker and former Seminole High star Ethan Pritchard was shot during a gathering in Havana, just 30 minutes outside of Tallahassee, Fla. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Pritchard was a four-star high school recruit and is a Florida native.
Investigators determined that Pritchard was the victim of mistaken identity and “did nothing wrong” when he was shot outside an apartment complex near Tallahassee on Aug. 31. Authorities said Pritchard was dropping off an aunt and a child after a family party when he was attacked.
Florida State linebacker Ethan Pritchard walks to the stadium before a game against Duke Oct. 21, 2023 in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
Four people were arrested in September in the shooting.
“I remember everything,” Pritchard said in an interview with WESH-TV in Orlando. “I turned the corner and the shots rang out. I put the car in reverse and just backed up and after that I don’t remember what else happened.”
Pritchard added that he couldn’t move his right side when he arrived at the rehab center in Jacksonville, but he woke up one morning able to move and continues to improve.
