THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

Due to a season-ending right-knee injury against Amarillo Tascosa during the 2016 campaign, Brother Miller hasn’t competed in a contact drill in more than nine months. Yet, that didn’t stop the 6-foot-2, 171-pound senior slotback from impressing his teammates and coaching staff during his first one-on-one drill as the Permian football team opened its fall camp Monday at John Wilkins Field. Miller’s three one-on-one performances included: >> A juggling catch on the sideline against junior starting cornerback Rakeeb Adeyemi. >> Snaring a pass over the outstretched arms of junior safety Mason Sellers. >> Fight off Adeyemi at the line of scrimmage for a one-handed leaping grab. “I love one-on-one drills,” said Miller, who finished with 11 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns during his junior season. “Since I came in as a freshman, that might be my favorite drill. “(My knee) is getting a lot stronger. I’m still learning how to run with it, cuts and making sudden movements. I’m still getting back to trusting it, but it felt good.” Permian senior quarterback Steve Steen gave high praises to Miller after his full practice. Miller — who was injured seven plays into the District 2-6A contest against Amarillo Tascosa and had surgery to repair his ACL, MCL and meniscus — was cleared for full-contact practice during the spring, but Permian’s coaching staff decided to keep Miller in non-contact drills until the fall. “He’s excited to be back out here and we are excited for him to be back out here,” Steen said about Miller. “You could tell that he was ready to go. He was making plays left and right. He had a couple of one-handed catches. He looked great and coming off an injury that’s what you want to see. He looked good running and jumping.” The Panthers’ offense hasn’t a skipped a beat from the spring. Steen found multiple receivers and slot backs throughout the first practice — which included seniors Devin Graham, KeShawn Jones, Miller, juniors Justin Hammond, Toddrick Robinson and sophomore Nakavieon White. Permian also returned its top running back — Ed Williams — from a year ago. The 5-9, 175-pound junior finished with 130 carries for 662 yards and eight touchdowns. “We have a lot guys coming back,” Miller said. “We have a lot of pieces and we are excited to show what we can do. Our offense is looking pretty good and we had a good first day. We have a chance to do big things.” On the flipside, the Panthers defense also packs a punch. The first-day learning curve was minimal with a majority of Permian’s starters returning. Those starters also included its top three tacklers from a year ago — Tanner Adams, Matt Jones and Preston Ellison. That trio combined for 295 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, 17 pass breakups, three interceptions and 2.5 sacks. “We’ve got a chance to be as good or better than we were on the defensive side of the ball a few years ago and that’s saying a lot because I thought we were very good defensively two years ago,” Permian head coach Blake Feldt said. “We’ve got a chance to be as good or better than that. Now having a chance and doing it, are two different things. We have that opportunity.” That thought is a tall order as the Panthers allowed less than two touchdowns per game and collected shutouts against Midland Lee and Midland High during the 2015 season. Ellison, who is in communication with a plethora of NCAA Division I FBS programs, was one of the only sophomores to receive playing time on that 2015 squad that featured a wealth of senior starters and backups. The other current defensive player is senior nose guard Dorian Rand. “That was my first year (2015) on varsity and with them coaching me up, I think it helped tremendously,” Ellison said. “Everyone on that defense knew what they were doing and knew their job, so they all helped me out. “I feel like that’s how we are this year. We had a couple new kids, but all the guys know what they are doing and there’s good communication which is a big deal.” The Panthers continue their first week with morning practices today, Wednesday and Friday. The team is set to practice in the evening on Thursday. Feldt was pleased after the first practice, but he knows there’s plenty of room for improvement before the team’s scrimmage against Lubbock-Cooper on Aug. 25 in Lubbock. “It was a good first day, but at the same, we have to come out here and do that every day,” Feldt said. “To be a great team, you have to be consistently great, day-in and day-out. We’ve got to learn to do that as a football team.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Permian High School Athletics

MILLER IMPRESSES IN FIRST CONTACT PRACTICE SINCE KNEE INJURY

ROYAL MCGREGOR

Odessa American | 8/14/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Sterkel