B-CU’s Khmani Robinson has former teammate Ethan Pritchard in mind at Florida Classic
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Wounded Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard may not be able to be on the football field, but he will certainly have someone playing for him this weekend.
Pritchard’s former Seminole High teammate, running back Khamani Robinson, has a lot to play for.
The freshman at Bethune-Cookman is excited about his first opportunity to play in the Florida Classic, as the Wildcats (5-6) take on rival FAMU (5-5) at 3:30 p.m., Saturday at Camping World Stadium.
He’ll be drawing inspiration from plenty of sources.
There will be friends and family watching, many of them from inside the stadium.
His Wildcats teammates will be counting on him to help prevent a fifth consecutive losing season. A victory Saturday would assure Bethune of a .500 record.
Robinson also has a number in the back of his mind that he considers attainable. He needs 263 yards in the final game of the season to break the B-CU freshman rushing record, set last year by Dennis Palmer with 706 yards.
He’s also playing for himself. In this world of the college football transfer era, one never knows who might be watching, and Robinson could always draw the eye of an FBS coach looking to pull him into the big time.
Probably more than anything, however, Robinson will be drawing inspiration from and also providing it for his good friend Pritchard.
Pritchard was wounded Aug. 31 by a gunshot to the back of his head, in an apparent case of mistaken identity, while driving his car in Havana, 16 miles from Tallahassee.
Once he arrived at the hospital, doctors kept him in a medically induced coma for several days after the incident as they monitored his progress from the wound. Pritchard improved dramatically and, a little more than a month later, he was moved from Tallahassee General Hospital to a Jacksonville facility. There, he rehabilitated for another month and, just last week, returned home to many well-wishers, vowing to play football again.
The initial news of the incident was shocking to Robinson and all of the Seminole High football family.
“That took a toll on me,” Robinson said. “ It showed you the game is not promised. It can be gone at any moment.”
When Robinson got to Seminole in 2024, he hit it off immediately with Pritchard.
“Ethan was like my brother, “Robinson said. “He helped me adjust to the school. He contacted me before I got there so I knew what to expect, and then once I got over there, our bond got even stronger.”
Robinson has had a terrific freshman season, leading the Wildcats in rushing with 444 yards in the first 11 games, with four touchdowns. It means a lot to the freshman to be producing for his hometown university.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder found a home at B-CU after bigger schools failed to recruit him out of high school.
“It’s a great feeling, because I have all of my support here, and they can come to all my games,” Robinson said. “It’s a great atmosphere, and I feel right at home when I play there.
“I needed a kickstart, and it’s all in the process. I needed to start somewhere first.”
He has been a bit of a vagabond during his football career. He spent this first two seasons of high school at Seabreeze in Daytona Beach, and then transferred to Mainland for his junior year. After head coach Travis Roland left for Georgia, following the 2023 season, Robinson decided to transfer to Sanford Seminole for his senior year.
That’s where the bond started with Pritchard, a bond Robinson said remains strong. He intends to visit his friend Saturday after the game.
“It has just pushed me harder to put on a show for him, because I have to do something that he can’t do at the moment,” said Robinson, who was elated to see Pritchard be able to return home.
“It was very exciting. I gotta go see him.”
It would be even more exciting if Robinson could break the freshman rushing record for his friend.
“I’m gonna break that. Just give me the ball. With my O-line, my big boys up front, I know I can break it.”
Robinson is not the only area youngster having success at B-CU. Sophomore receiver Javon Ross has also been impressive. The DeLand product has caught 50 passes for 603 yards and three touchdowns. B-CU coach Raymond Woodie Jr., is certainly happy to have the two local stars.
“Obviously, we’re fortunate here to have a ton of talent in our backyard and in the state of Florida. It’s a credit to our recruiting staff for identifying these high-character guys to help improve our program,” Woodie said, “and a credit to Khamani and Javon for putting in the work to improve. They do things the right way and it shows on the field.”
Robinson, who credits Seminole High coach Karl Calhoun for getting him ready for college-level football, put it matter-of-factly about what kind of influence Woodie has had on him.
“Coach Woodie … the impact he’s had on me, he was like, ‘Don’t slip up because you’ll be sitting down.’ ”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
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