Ex-FSU linebacker Ethan Pritchard is ‘a walking miracle’ as he recovers from gunshot to head

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It’s amazing enough to see Ethan Pritchard walking, but to hear him talk and see him smile is truly an incredible thing considering what the former FSU linebacker has endured.

Just 362 days after getting shot in the head, the victim of thugs who thought he was someone else, Pritchard continues to rehab his body and retrain it to work the way it once did.

On Saturday, he will return to Tallahassee and walk out on the field at Doak Campbell Stadium as FSU opens the season against New Mexico State.

“I’m blessed. Every day, I feel blessed,” Pritchard said.

His ability to walk and function seemed impossible a year ago. Even more amazing, however, he vows to play football again.

“Oh yeah, you’ll see me out there,” Pritchard said Friday, during a media event at The Draft Academy, where Pritchard trains. “You’re gonna see me back on that field. You can believe that.”

He said playing football again was one of the first things he thought about after waking up from a medically induced coma after more than a month.

“I couldn’t talk then, but I mouthed it,” he said.

When he was able to talk about it, Pritchard said no doctors ever told him he would not be able to play again.

“They said it was up to me, so that was all the motivation I needed, right there,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard has had to learn how to do everything again. He had to learn how to talk, how to use his hands and how to walk.

“He’s a walking miracle,” said Gabe Davis, a free-agent NFL receiver who is out this season with an injured knee.

Davis and Bert Wigham both, like Pritchard, attended Seminole High. They are co-owners of The Draft Academy training center in Winter Park, and they have watched Pritchard’s progress. They have seen him go from being unable to walk or even sit up in a chair, to walking on his own, without even a cane.

His daily routine consists of a physical therapy session with Alex Mendez and two-a-day workouts at Draft Academy. His attitude and positive demeanor have carried him through his progress, and it’s a big reason he has been able to reach his goals. However, he vows, there are many goals remaining.

“It carries me a lot. I feel like that’s what made me not give up on myself, outside of having all of these people around me,” Pritchard said. “Having them is what made me not wanna quit. … You just gotta find it within yourself. I gotta do it for myself, because ain’t nobody gonna feel sorry for you if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.”

Pritchard, who recently turned 19, saw his weight drop from 220 pounds all the way down to 165 during the time when he was immobile. Today, he’s back up over 200 and looking strong.

His father, Earl Pritchard, said he has no doubt that his son will play football again. He’s watched Ethan’s progress, and his son continues to amaze him.

“Every day he surprises me with something different,” Earl Pritchard said.

Earl was only about three blocks away when Ethan was shot, his car ambushed as he entered an apartment complex in Havana, the unfortunate victim of mistaken identity.

Four people were arrested in connection with the shooting in September of last year.

“I heard the shots … but not knowing it’s your kid …,” Earl said. “I got up there where he was … he was still in the car when I got up there.”

Earl had one thought when he arrived on the scene.

“I didn’t want to lose my baby,” he said. “I was scared, angry … At one point I didn’t know how to feel. ”

Ethan Pritchard said that when he came out of the coma, his memory was intact.

“I knew everything that happened, from the point of me getting shot to me waking up,” Pritchard said.

He’s always been determined and confident about his progress, but even he could not have seen himself progress the way he has.

“I knew I would get back, but you couldn’t tell me I would get back here,” Pritchard said.

Both Earl and Ethan knew there was a long recovery process ahead, and it was hard for Ethan to accept his situation.

“At first, he didn’t want to go outside because he was in a wheelchair,” Earl said. “But after he started getting out of the house and getting back to working out, it just went through the roof.”

Plenty of words have been used to describe Pritchard’s recovery. Words like miraculous, inspirational, incredible, amazing and magical were just some of the adjectives heard at Friday’s event.

“I’m trying to find some better words than that,” Earl said. “It’s definitely miraculous, tremendous, all of the above.”

Ethan has feeling throughout his entire body, but he still has nerve damage in his lower right leg, and uses a brace for reinforcement and strength. Pritchard said that’s the only thing keeping him from getting back on the football field.

“If I didn’t have this problem right now, I’d be back, probably,” Pritchard said. “I feel like I’m 100 more times destined for it than I was before.”

Dad agrees.

“Oh yeah. If he gets the feeling in that leg today, he’d be back out there. That’s the only thing stopping him,” Earl said. “Unless somebody tells him different, he’ll play again. I’m gonna see him on the field.”

Pritchard’s drive and his positive attitude are obvious.

“He’s never said nothing to me that had me worried about him,” Earl said. “He always tells me he’s good, ready to go. He’s got that drive and everything.”

Pritchard works with physical therapist Alex Mendez, who pushes him every day. His support staff around him has been a big part of his recovery.

“It’s second to none,” Pritchard said. “There are great people around here, and they’re just good people to have in your corner. They mean the world to me. Without them, my head would be all over the place right now.”

To help push his progress along, Wigham, who’s Draft Academy company also works as representatives for athletes, had Pritchard move in with him two months ago. Wigham is with him daily, taking him to workouts and PT appointments.

“As a management company, we’re here to help families, and that’s what I told his family, that we would help him,” Wigham said. “It’s something you have to be hands on with. That’s why we opened this company. To help kids manage with this process. His situation, of course, is unique.”

Mendez works with a lot with athletes with injuries, but Pritchard is obviously different.

“I’m mostly an orthopedic sports medicine guy … those gains are usually slow and incremental,” Mendez said. “Ethan is making overnight changes. His attitude is a big part of it. If he wasn’t willing to work, this wouldn’t be happening.”

Pritchard loves working with Mendez.

“That’s the man with the plan, right there,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard said the workout stuff is nothing.

“I’m used to everything I’m doing, so I wouldn’t say anything has surprised me, but it makes me feel good, for sure,” Pritchard said of his progress. “It’s no struggle for me, at all.”

His big smile tells the story. Always positive, Pritchard said he didn’t even take much time to be mad about the situation. He even said frustration with his situation has been very rare.

“The head space I’m in now, I just leave it in God’s hands. I know God has something planned for me. I just leave it up to God,” Pritchard said.

He can’t wait to walk on that field at Doak Campbell on Saturday night.

“That’s just a blessing, just to know that I only got to do it one time last year, this will be my first time back. I’m gonna make the best of it,” Pritchard said.

Dad is all smiles. He just sits back in amazement as he watches his son.

“We’re very fortunate, blessed. He’s an amazing kid,” Earl said.

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