Brother Miller donned a pair of ruby red Under Armour cleats at the Permian football team’s first spring practice.

However, the 6-foot-2, 171-pound junior will have to wait until the fall to test those cleats out against opponents.

Miller — who has been cleared for full contact — will participate in non-contact drills per coaches discretion for the entirety of the spring, which began on Monday at John Wilkins Field at Permian High School.

“It’s pretty tough not being able to do all stuff I want to with my team,” Miller said. “We have a lot of young guys and I really looked forward to showing them the ropes, kind of how the (upperclassmen) did when I was a freshman. I do what I can while I can and make the most of it.”

During the seventh play against Amarillo Tascosa on Nov. 14, Miller caught a 5-yard slant pass in the middle of the field, while he was trying to slip past defenders for more yards, he was tackled from behind and injured his right knee.

Miller was forced to sit the final three games of the regular season and have surgery to repair his ACL, MCL and meniscus in his right knee. He finished his junior campaign with 27 carries for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Miller also grabbed 11 passes for 269 yards and three scores.

Though he isn’t competing in contact drills, Miller and junior quarterback Steve Steen stay after practice for extra throws and catches. Steen said it feels good to have Miller back on the field. The 6-foot, 170-pound quarterback passed for 1,103 yards and 13 touchdowns and on the ground Steen rushed for program quarterback record 862 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“That work after (practice) is awesome,” Steen said. “It feels good to start getting that connection back with him. We lost him early last season, so we didn’t get a full season of work together. We’ve been working in the offseason, but just to be suited and throwing to him is awesome.”

Permian head coach Blake Feldt said a bright spot in the first day of spring practice was the maturation of Steen.

Steen has a wealth of returners on the offensive side, which includes sophomore slotbacks Justin Hammond, Toddrick Robinson, sophomore running back Ed Williams and Miller — who split time at slotback and wide receiver.

“He operated like he’s been doing it for a long time, but at the same time, that’s expected from him,” Feldt said about Steen. “Steve is a fighter and he worked really hard in the offseason. We are expecting great things out of him.”

The Panthers’ first spring practice included contact between first-team offense and defense.

Permian lost eight starters from last year, but the team returns a wealth of playing time.

Steen enjoys the opportunity for the offense to compete against the first-team defense. The Panthers offense and defense share the same end goal — winning games — but they battling for some bragging rights at practice.

“There’s a whole lot of competing between the offense and the defense,” Steen said. “You want to be crowned the better side of the ball. That’s something that you get to do a little during spring ball. You get to go through some contact and some scrimmaging that you don’t get to go through during the fall.”

On the defensive side, Permian brings back eight of its 11 starters.

Yet, there are three players — junior Seth Higdon, sophomore linebacker Tanner Adams and sophomore defensive back Christian Tschauner — that won’t join practice until the Panthers’ baseball season concludes on Friday.

Preston Ellison, a 6-3, 195-pound junior, moved from safety to linebacker. Ellison played at linebacker as a sophomore during Permian’s two playoff games in 2015, but he was transition to the secondary prior to his junior season and posted 83 tackles, 10 pass break ups, four tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception that he returned 85 yards for a touchdown.

“It’s our first spring ball and it’s my first spring ball at linebacker actually, so everybody is just kind of getting into it and getting a feel for it,” Ellison said. “A lot of it is just remembering stuff back from sophomore year. I feel that I can pick it back up pretty easy. I’m picking up on it pretty quick. Not much has changed since my sophomore year. I feel like I’m just as experienced as anyone else.”

Though it was the first practice of the season, Miller believes the team made a positive start.

Permian will practice Monday through Thursday until the Black-White Spring Game on May 18.

“I feel like we looked pretty good for the first day,” Miller said. “The coaches always talk to the skilled guys about changing the way we train. We still have to adjust and train big, if we want to win big.”
