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Florida State

Mike Norvell breaks down while describing the emotions of playing for Ethan Pritchard

Danby: Daniel Hager09/06/25DanielHagerOn3
Mike-Norvell-breaks-down-while-describing-the-emotions-of-playing-for-Ethan-Pritchard
© Melina Myers-Imagn Images

Fresh off its eye-opening 31-17 win over No. 8 Alabama last Saturday, now No. 14-ranked Florida State continued its early-season momentum by drumming East Texas A&M 77-3 Saturday afternoon. The Seminoles’ 74-point win tied for the biggest in program history.

The win comes just days after Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard was shot in the back of the head Sunday while driving his aunt home from a family gathering, his father told WFTV-9. The shooting took place about 25 minutes from FSU’s campus.

An emotional Mike Norvell described playing with the emotions of dealing with Pritchard’s incident following the win on Saturday.

“Ethan is one of my favorites,” Norvell said while trying to fight off tears. “I recruited him for years and got a chance to watch him grow. When he committed to Florida State, the way that he plays the game; his passion and energy. He loves it. He absolutely loves it. To know that that’s taken away from him in a senseless act and something that you don’t even know why. You don’t know why you have to go through things in life.”

“You don’t understand the reasoning, but I do believe that God has his hand over Ethan and this football team and all the relationships. To have (his father) Earl here today, he is a wonderful man. Being with him I know it’s so very hard and I know its so hard for anybody to have to through. He told me earlier this week ‘I know where my boy wants to be. So I’m gonna go stand in place for him.’ To just see the team and them embracing him is just special.”

Pritchard’s father, Earl, joined the Seminoles in the locker room postgame to break the rock.

More on Pritchard’s incident and the aftermath

“Just ask the community and everybody for their prayers,” the senior Pritchard told WFTV-9 on Monday according to ESPN. “He was actually in the car taking my sister around the corner to her daughter’s house to drop her off. They turned the corner, and as soon as they turned the corner, they heard gunshots.”

At the time, Earl Pritchard said his son was “heavily sedated, and doctors are waiting for the swelling in his head to decrease before assessing the damage” of the gunshot wound, per WFTV-9.

Ethan Pritchard has since been reclassified to stable condition as of Wednesday morning, according to Norvell.

“It’s a lot,” Norvell said in his press conference Wednesday. “I’m not gonna say it’s not. I try to give the players a daily update. I talked to Ethan’s dad this morning. I’m trying to just check on him, check on Ethan. I was able to go by yesterday just for a short period of time. It was limited visitation, so you get a chance to be there for just a handful of minutes. It was good to be with him.

“He’s still in stable condition and he’s going through the process. He’s got all the things that are in front and we’re absolutely praying for him every day and just trying to be there for our players too. Yes, it’s one thing on the field. But also, off the field it’s one of their brothers. It’s somebody they deeply care about. Just kind of working through some of the tragedy of what it is.”

The shooting took place shortly before 10 pm ET Sunday evening in Havana, Fla., roughly 16 miles from Tallahassee and near the Florida-Georgia border. Pritchard is originally from Sanford in Seminole County, which is in Central Florida about a four-hour drive south from Tallahassee.

When Gadsden County Sheriff’s officers arrived near the Havana Heights Apartment complex, Pritchard was found wounded inside is vehicle.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office are currently still investigating the incident. The Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to stay vigilant and encourages anyone with information to come forward.

Ethan Pritchard was a three-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting cycle out of Seminole High (Sanford, Fla.). He was the 555th-ranked player and the 61st-ranked linebacker in that recruiting class.

Pritchard did not see any action in the Seminoles’ season-opener against Alabama.

— On3’s Chandler Vessels and Alex Byington contributed to this report.