Tag: ol masterminds

Trevor Penning trained with Terron Armstead this offseason

Trevor Penning trained with former Saints left tackle Terron Armstead this offseason. He says the five-time Pro Bowler taught him a thing or two:

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.”

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WATCH: Chiefs C Creed Humphrey imparts knowledge at OL Masterminds summit

#Chiefs C Creed Humphrey has quickly gone from student to teacher at the annual OL Masterminds summit.

In just two short years, Kansas City Chiefs C Creed Humphrey has gone from student to teacher at OL Masterminds.

The sixth-annual offensive line symposium, hosted by offensive line guru Duke Manyweather and Eagles OT Lane Johnson, covers everything about playing the position at a high level in the NFL. The best-of-the-best in the country gather to discuss things like preparation and film study to on-field execution and recovery.

In his first two years attending the summit, Humphrey was learning from Chiefs legends like Willie Roaf and Mitchell Schwartz. Now that he’s been recognized as one of the NFL’s best centers, he’s hosting his own session. He’s getting the opportunity to mold some of the brightest young offensive linemen in the NFL and the NCAA, explaining what he looks to do while getting out of his stance.

KC Sports Network’s BJ Kissel is down in Frisco, Texas and captured Humphrey speaking about this during a breakout session that included Manyweather, Brian Baldinger and others.

Humphrey also presented in front of the crowd during a film session.

One other current Chiefs player is in attendance for this year’s summit. According to Kissel, Trey Smith is also there, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given that he’s attended alongside Humphrey in each of the past two years. Jeff Allen, Ben Grubbs and Kahlil McKenzie are some of the former members of the team out there imparting their offensive line knowledge.

Update: Smith also appears to have quickly ascended from pupil to teacher.

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Chiefs RG Trey Smith had another Hall of Fame mentor at OL Masterminds

#Chiefs RG Trey Smith focused on a few things at this year’s OL Masterminds Summit and received help from Hall of Fame OG Steve Hutchinson. | from @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs’ much improved offensive line starred rookies Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith last season. The latter of the two dropped to the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft due to health concerns, but he quickly alleviated those concerns to become a core player on the team.

Smith earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors for his exceptional performance last season, starting all 17 games on the revamped offensive line. The 6-6, 330-pound right guard seemed unfazed at the opportunity to start every week on a championship contending team. Part of that success seemed to come with working to perfect his craft by attending events such as the annual OL Masterminds Summit.

The former Tennessee Volunteers star again attended this year’s summit with a focus on improving some key areas of his game.

“Yeah, I would say my biggest focuses were eyes, hands,” Smith told reporters on Wednesday. “And then, pretty much just body positioning and body control.”

Smith was already spotted learning from Hall of Fame OT Willie Roaf, but he also revealed that he had another mentor while he was at this year’s event.

“One guy that I was leaning on a lot was Steve Hutchinson,” said Smith. “He’s a great jump setter and that’s something that I try to take to my game and apply it. I knew him a little bit before the draft process a little bit just talking to him. Just watching him in action, watching him take reps, what he thinks about his mental processing before the play. I thought it was pretty helpful to take to my game and apply it cause he’s one of the best to ever do it.”

Hutchinson was a seven-time Pro Bowl guard, spending 11 seasons in the NFL. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2020. Smith is only 23 years old, with plenty of potential for growth in his game. Fans should come to expect it as he continues to learn from all-time great players.

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Calvin Throckmorton joins former Saints tackles Willie Roaf, Terron Armstead at OL Masterminds

Calvin Throckmorton joined former New Orleans Saints left tackles Terron Armstead and Willie Roaf at the OL Masterminds summit:

The long break between minicamp and training camp is a good opportunity to learn from the best, so it’s great to see New Orleans Saints guard Calvin Throckmorton making the most of his summer by attending Lane Johnson’s “OL Masterminds” summit in Dallas. The weekend-long event brings together some of pro football’s best offensive linemen for several days of film study and field work, giving them hands-on experience with their peers.

This year’s summit features an impressive lineup of retired pros offering their input, including Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Willie Roaf. Roaf is joined by other former Saints like Ben Grubbs (who went to two Pro Bowls with New Orleans) and Terron Armstead, who signed a massive contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency earlier this year. Armstead has been a fixture at the OL Masterminds summit throughout his playing career, so it’s not surprising to see him front and center at the event again this summer.

It’s unclear which of Throckmorton’s teammates may have also made the trip. Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning could both benefit from the experience — but even if they aren’t in attendance, they’ll be busy training on their own somewhere else.

But as for Throckmorton: he spent much of 2021 at left guard after Andrus Peat went down with a season-ending injury, totaling 626 snaps at that spot. He also moved over to right guard for 282 snaps when starting center Erik McCoy missed time earlier in the season, putting Ruiz in the pivot point. Throckmorton was seen lining up at right guard again in practices earlier this year, and while it’s too soon to predict that he’ll be pushing Ruiz for the starting gig, he’s shown enough to deserve some consideration given Ruiz’s struggles in the role. He’s got a strong resume with 41 starts on the right side (at tackle) for Oregon. Maybe Throckmorton can pick up some more tricks of the trade this weekend in Dallas to win over his coaches come training camp.

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