DAYTONA BEACH — Cross Patton was sitting on the sidelines of Bethune-Cookman’s football practice field, taking questions and smiling through his answers, when William Roberts III approached him last week.

Patton stood up, extended his right arm and introduced himself to one of his new teammates.

“What’s going on, man?” Patton said. “Cross. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Roberts said. “Will.”

Despite just connecting, the two already knew of each other. They share something in common.

Both grew up with famous parents — Patton the son of Antwan Patton, aka rapper Big Boi, and Sherlita Patton, and Roberts the son of William Roberts II, aka rapper Rick Ross, and Tia Kemp.

“Having your parents in the bright lights, it wasn't a normal thing every child goes through,” said Roberts, a freshman offensive lineman. “But I just made it normal. I don't really know how to explain it. It's just always been my life, so it just became normal.”

Now, he and Patton will look to make an impact with the Wildcats.

Cross Patton

When Patton autographed his commitment papers to Oregon in the winter of 2018, he did so in the back of a Rolls-Royce.

“It was my dad's idea, man,” he said, laughing. “I didn't really want to be too flashy with it. But my dad had just got the truck, and he was like, ‘Let's do this.’ I was like, ‘OK, let's do it.’ We did it, and it went viral.”

This time, Patton kept it a little more low-key. The graduate running back completed the paperwork in the Bethune-Cookman offices.

Patton arrived in Daytona Beach with one year of eligibility left. He spent stints at Oregon (2019-2021) and Nevada (2022-2023) before entering the portal in May and transferring to Bethune-Cookman in June.

“When I came out here on my visit, everyone was so welcoming,” Patton said. “It just felt like brothers and uncles everywhere. I ain't really had that in a minute, that kind of atmosphere. So it was very comfortable, and I'm very comfortable being back down south because that's where home is at.”

Patton hails from Atlanta. After stops more than 2,000 miles from where he grew up, he’ll take the 400 miles and six-hour drive to the middle of Georgia that Central Florida offers.

His family and friends are already talking about fall trips to Daytona Stadium, which is nothing new. His dad has missed only a few of his games.

“He's a busy guy,” Patton said. “He's going all around the world, performing and everything. It's just a blessing he can make time for me and make time for my games and the way he raised me to be the grown man I am and be responsible and everything. It's really a blessing. I thank God every day for it.”

In 22 career contests, Patton has tallied 71 yards on 24 carries. He possesses a small frame at 5-foot-7, 175-pounds, but he believes he can bring a shifty presence to a backfield that includes seven players. Coach Raymond Woodie Jr. said the depth chart is wide open.

“He's a guy that you can put on the offensive side of the ball at multiple positions — slot, running back, he can catch it out of the backfield,” Woodie said. “It's going to be a lot of competition.”

Patton owns a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies from Nevada. Now, he is working on his master’s in business. He expects it to take a year and a half.

In the future, he wants to see where football takes him. The NFL is the dream.

But Plan B could include a number of things. Real estate, dog breeding, Twitch streaming. He created a channel, Peezy2Prsshr, and hopes to get it rolling in the next few weeks.

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William Roberts III

Roberts doesn’t remember when he started playing football.

“As soon as you could put a kid in football, I think,” he said. “My mom said I was holding a ball when I was a couple months old.”

As he grew up, he was always big. He played basketball with the older kids because he was the tallest in his age group. He was always an offensive lineman on the gridiron.

That led him to the varsity squad at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale as a freshman. In four years, he collected four state championships.

“He's a winner,” Woodie said. “He understands how to win, and he's a really good football player. Just coming in in that position, offensive line, you have to pick up blitz protection. You have to understand a lot — run, pass set, (identifying) the defense. He's the type of person that's so (advanced) in the classroom, he's picking it up. He's a smart kid.”

Roberts chose Bethune-Cookman over multiple Football Bowl Subdivision schools. According to Rivals, the three-star recruit amassed offers from the likes of Miami, Syracuse, Florida International and Colorado.

The Wildcats signed him in January.

“It just felt like home,” said Roberts, who added the deciding factor was his relationship with Woodie. “More than any other school, this just felt like where I was supposed to be. I just had a good feeling about the program and everyone I was around.”

Staying in Florida was another perk.

As a St. Thomas Aquinas senior last fall, Roberts helped pave the way for more than 2,700 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns. He projects as an interior offensive lineman with a height and weight of 6-foot-3, 285 pounds.

“I feel like they're bringing in a guy with a winning mentality, coming from a winning team,” Roberts said. “A dog. A person that is for the team and a person that wants to win. I don't really care where you put me. As long as we're winning and I'm helping out, I'm happy and I'm cool.”

One more thing he brings to the Wildcats? A great nickname.

The words “Big Bank” are tattooed on his right forearm.

“One day, my dad just called me that,” Roberts said. “I think I put on a bunch of his chains or something, and he was just like, ‘You Big Bank’ when I was a kid. I just stuck with it. Everybody kind of calls me that.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sons of Big Boi, Rick Ross strive for Bethune-Cookman football impact