Most of the Permian football team’s returning starters began spring practice on April 24.

However, three defensive starters — junior safety Seth Higdon, sophomore linebacker Tanner Adams and sophomore cornerback Christian Tschauner — had to wait until the baseball season concluded to join their teammates on the gridiron.

Vance Washington — the defensive coordinator for the Panthers — said with the addition of Higdon, Adams and Tschauner has brought a new level of enthusiasm to the team’s second week of spring practice.

“That was exciting to see Tanner, Christian and Seth,” Washington said. “They were all excited to be out here, so the attitude was great. It was fun to see those guys and they are excited to be out here and so are we.”

Adams has been itching to suit up since the Panthers posted a 55-28 victory over the Midland Lee during the team’s regular season finale on Nov. 4, 2016 at Ratliff Stadium.

In that contest, Adams finished with 12 tackles. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound linebacker concluded his sophomore campaign with a team-high 109 tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks and one fumble recovery. Adams also played a strong role on special teams with a 27-yard rush and a 40-yard pass to fellow linebacker Preston Ellison on a pair of fake punts.

“I’ve been waiting to throw the pads back on and get back out here with my brothers and just attack it every day,” Adams said.

Tschauner believed he was a little rusty in his first practice of the spring.

Yet, the sophomore cornerback proved he belonged in the starting lineup when the 2016 season began with Austin Vandegrift. Tschauner posted eight pass breakups and five tackles against the Vipers. The sophomore finished with 28 tackles, 10 pass breakups and a 50-yard interception that he returned for a touchdown.

“Everyone is comfortable and everyone is confident that they can do it, because we’ve done it,” Tschauner said about the team’s learning experiences.

Throughout their 2016 campaign, the Panthers had a combination of seven juniors and five sophomores start on defense. Permian allowed 23.2 points per game, but supplied shutouts against El Paso Franklin and Odessa High.

Washington said those lessons many of returners learned stayed with them to the spring ball.

“There was a great deal of retention and that’s what (the coaching staff) was happy about,” Washington said. “We retained a ton and they should. They played 10 ball games last year.

“They know where to go and they know their job. Now, we have to work to get better at our technique and be great at our technique.”

For Higdon, this was his first practice since he suffered a season-ending right-knee injury during the team’s final nondistrict contest against Bishop Timon (N.Y.).

Higdon missed six District 2-6A games, but recovered and played the entire baseball season. The 6-2, 205-pound safety supplied 35 tackles and grabbed an interception that helped the Panthers secure a come-from-behind victory over Vandegrift.

Matt Jones, who was working with the defensive line during Monday’s practice, is pleased the defense is back to full strength. Jones started all 10 games at outside linebacker a year ago and finished with a second-most tackles (103) and tied for a team-high in interceptions (two).

“It’s exciting and it’s fun having everybody back on the field,” Jones said. “It’s just great. We are going to be a good team this year.”
