From the moment Permian’s Preston Ellison reached the varsity level, he has been proving himself.

The 6-foot-3, 203-pound senior linebacker was on a mission during the team’s season opener against Austin Vandegrift last Friday.

Ellison’s goal was simple — prove to prospective college coaches that he can be effective at linebacker and he did just that.

The senior linebacker collected nine tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one blocked punt to help the Panthers a 28-24 victory over the Vipers. Ellison will look to add to those highlights as the Panthers host El Paso Franklin at 7 tonight at Ratliff Stadium.

“I know that I’m not going to get offers just thrown my way,” Ellison said. “I’m going to have to work for it. The thing right now is film. That’s why I’m trying to play lights out, so I can get some offers and hopefully that offer will lead to another and another offers. Hopefully, I’ll have enough options to pick and choose what I want to do and what school is the best for me.”

Ellison has received official offers from Army and Texas State. He’s in communication with Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

Permian head coach Blake Feldt doesn’t want college coaches to miss the chance on Ellison. The senior linebacker has started the last 13 games for the Panthers as the team posted an 8-5 record in that span.

“He’s an outstanding football player that has all the tools that you need to be a Division I player,” Feldt said. “He played that way on Friday. There’s people recruiting him, but there are a lot of people missing the boat.”

Vance Washington — Permian’s defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach — believes it will be where, not if, that Ellison continues his football career.

“If everybody isn’t on him, they are nuts,” Washington said. “He has size, speed and athletic ability. He’s a great kid and a great student. He will be very successful at the next level wherever he ends. And he will end up at the next level.”

Despite a multitude of Division I FBS programs communicating with Ellison, he isn’t taking this opportunity lightly.

Ellison has already proven that he can perform at a high level as a safety. As a junior, Ellison posted 83 tackles, 10 pass breakups, four tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a 50-yard interception returned for a touchdown.

The concept of Ellison proving himself started during spring camp as a freshman.

Ellison, who primary played receiver throughout his football career, moved to linebacker. He was tasked with joining a defense that featured essentially senior starters and backups.

“Personally, it helped me be a better player, because my whole life I’ve always been a good athlete. I would always have a position on the team, but that year I had to work just to get to second string,” Ellison said. “That was a very intense defense. I’ve never really had to fight for something that much. Every day at practice, I was fighting for that second position.”

Ellison earned that backup role as a sophomore. He played in every game during the 2015 campaign, which was helped by the fact that the Panthers outscored opponents by more than 36 points during the regular season en route to a 9-1 record.

He would be called upon as a starter when then-senior safety Isaiah Sarabia suffered a season-ending knee injury during the regular season finale against San Angelo Central. Ellison started the team’s 49-12 bi-district playoff victory over Austin Bowie and its 17-10 loss to Amarillo Tascosa in the area round.

Just when Ellison believed he has everything figured out at linebacker, Permian’s coaching staff moved him to safety for his junior campaign. Ellison was on the move again for his senior season as he transitioned back to linebacker.
“I always thought I was going to be a receiver and when I moved to outside linebacker my sophomore year, it was different and I had to get a lot more physical,” Ellison said. “Then that following spring, I moved to safety and I had to learn all of the coverages. I was a lot older and wiser then and I felt like I picked up safety pretty well and pretty fast. Going back to linebacker is just rejogging the memory.”

At the end of fall camp, juniors Andy Notley and Keatyn Armstrong solidified starting spots as inside and outside linebackers, respectively.

Armstrong, who finished with five tackles in his first varsity start against Vandegrift, said Ellison increases the defense’s level of play whether it’s at practice or in a game.

“He picks our intensity up,” Armstrong said about Ellison. “He’s one of best players on defense, if not the best on the defense. That’s really motivation for the whole team.”

Ellison feels confident the Panthers can continue their winning success throughout the rest of the regular season. The senior linebacker said the team’s 6-4 mark from 2016 didn’t sit well with him or the rest of the senior class.

Permian jumped into the No. 25 spot for Class 6A according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football after the win against Vandegrift. The Panthers have two nondistrict contests left before District 2-6A opener against Wolfforth Frenship at Sept. 29. Over next five weeks, Permian will have two byes.

“We knew that we weren’t a 6-4 team last year,” Ellison said. “That’s why we were so mad about it, because we knew we were a whole lot better than that. I feel like we could have won every game last year and this year, I know we can win every game this year. We don’t have that rookie mentality anymore.

“Winning against Vandegrift proves that we are looking to put Permian back on the map.”
