Had it not been for his youthful determination – along with a little help from his grandmother – Georgia State’s Gavin Pringle might not be playing college football.
Pringle’s first year of football was a disaster. He was 7 and playing for the Randallstown Panthers, in his hometown outside of Baltimore. He was miscast as a defensive end, the weather was cold and he didn’t know what he was doing. The experience wasn’t a good one.
“It was a rough year for me. My dad (Melvin Pringle) was telling me all the time that you’ve got to practice, and you’ve got to do better,” Pringle said. “And the next year came around, and it was time for football to start, and I asked my dad when practice starts. He said, ‘You did terrible last year. I’m not signing you up. I’m not going to waste my time.’”
Pringle was devastated. Although the results from his first season weren’t great and there was plenty of frustration, he enjoyed the sport and wanted to keep playing. So, he went to see his biggest ally.
“I was so upset,” he said. “I went to my grandma’s house, and I was just crying about it to her, and she made my dad sign me up. And the next year I played quarterback, and it was easy from then on.”
He went on to have an outstanding career as a defensive back at Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, where he was chosen All-Maryland Interscholastic Association and selected to play in the Baltimore Touchdown Club All-Star game and the Maryland Crab Bowl.
Pringle signed with Bucknell, which competes on the FCS level, and had an outstanding career. He was named to the All-Patriot League team from 2019-21, making the first team in 2020-21. Last fall he intercepted three passes and had 15 pass breakups.
With two seasons of eligibility remaining, Pringle decided to enter the transfer portal and explore his options. At the request of his mother, Melissa, he stayed in school there through the spring and earned his degree in economics at Bucknell.
He received a few nibbles from other FCS schools and one day got an unexpected call from Georgia State secondary coach Corey Peoples. Pringle had never even been to Atlanta, but quickly arranged to make an official visit with his father. They were impressed by the program and the post-football business opportunities that exist in the city.
“There are lot of things outside of football that could really help me in life,” he said. “I wanted to go somewhere that I could play right away and have an impact on the team.”
Pringle quickly committed and joined the team in June. He is expected to nail down one of the starting cornerback spots, where the graduation of all-Sun Belt performer Quavian White and veteran Jaylon Jones leave big holes. Returning Bryquice Brown is expected to start at the other corner.
Pringle’s intelligent approach, his preparation and his willingness to tackle has been noticed by the staff.
“He has not said a whole lot,” coach Shawn Elliott said. “He just puts his head down and works. He’s an intelligent guy. He’s a technician-type player. He’s not one of those guys that’s just going to get you beat because he’s so conscientious of the scheme and route concepts. He’s been playing at a high level for a long time, and he’s fit right in and feels comfortable settling in that spot.”
Pringle (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) has meshed with his teammates and has flourished in this year’s hard-line approach.
“Just the atmosphere and definitely the players,” Pringle said. “A lot of the guys are dedicated to football, and they want to win. That’s another thing, at Bucknell we didn’t win as much, so I wanted to go somewhere where guys wanted to win and coaches were coaching, getting on their players and forcing the players to be better day in and day out.”
Elliott said, “We’re just asking him to go out there and compete and be the best doggone secondary player we’ve got and make us a better football team. And that’s certainly what he’s doing right now.”
With the first two weeks of camp finished, Elliott said a lot of attention would be paid this week to finalizing positions. He said emphasis was on the secondary and on special teams.
“Everything needs a little bit of tweaking,” Elliott said. “Special teams has got to be our No. 1 factor moving forward. We’ve done a lot of prep and meeting time with those guys, and we were hoping to make a step forward for our special teams coming in this year.”
The Panthers open the season Aug. 31 against Rhode Island at Center Parc Stadium.
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