Trevor Penning is playing with more confidence in Year 3. The New Orleans Saints offensive tackle has seen a lot of adversity since the team drafted him, losing most of his rookie year to injuries before being benched early in his sophomore campaign. Now he’s been asked to move to the right side after spending his career thus far at left tackle.
And he found a great resource to tap into while training in Frisco, Texas at Duke Manyweather’s OL Masterminds program: Terron Armstead, the longtime Saints left tackle who Penning was initially drafted to replace.
“He was kind of a mentor to me, Terron was. Having him kind of (share) his mental processing, the kind of stuff he does, definitely helps,” Penning told local media after Monday’s training camp practice.
Armstead was a home-run draft pick for the Saints back in 2013, starting 116 of the 120 games he’s played in the NFL while being honored at five Pro Bowls. He was recognized on the All-Pro second team in 2018. While he’s since left to continue his career with the Miami Dolphins, Armstead is still playing at a very high level, and it’s great to see him mentoring young pros like Penning.
He’s been there. Just like Penning, Armstead made the jump to the NFL from a smaller program at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He experienced many of the challenges that Penning has dealt with after playing college ball at Northern Iowa. So what has he worked to teach Penning?
“A lot of technique. A lot of technique,” Penning repeated. “A lot of the mental side of it, kind of like a plan, was what he was trying to help me with. Kind of develop a plan before you even get to the line of scrimmage. Kind of ‘What you’re going to do to them to not let the rusher dictate what you’re going to do?’ A more offensive approach, being the guy who sets the tone over what he’s going to do.”
And how has that work paid off? Penning said he felt encouraged when reflecting on his first five days of practice, including the first session in pads, though he’s the first to admit he has more work to do before he’ll be truly satisfied with his progress.
“There’s always work you can do. So far I feel like I’ve been a lot more comfortable, even from years past and even the spring. I think so far I’m doing some good things, obviously there’s still a ton of stuff I can improve on but I’ll take that day by day. Just keep improving every day,” Penning said.”
