NFL draft 2022: Northern Iowa tackle recalls rugged workouts with Bills' Spencer Brown

MOBILE, Ala. – Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning doesn’t have much doubt he can make the big jump to the NFL this year.

He watched his former teammate Spencer Brown do it this year for the Buffalo Bills.

“That showed really we can come from anywhere,” Penning said Wednesday at the Senior Bowl. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from the SEC or the Big 10 or a smaller school. If you can ball, you can ball. Having Spencer be able to show out and start as a rookie is awesome.”

Brown, 6-foot-8 and 311 pounds, was a third-round pick of the Bills last year. Penning, 6-7 and 330, is viewed as a possible later first-round pick. The Bills aren’t in the market for a tackle. They need interior offensive line prospects.

But Penning and Brown are cut from the same cloth. They play with an edge and they are fierce workers.

“Me and him would do all of our workouts together,” Penning said of Brown. “We’d do these things called 180s. They were pretty miserable. It’s around the track 180 meters. Not a fun time. We’d do 12 to 14 after doing some intense conditioning.

“Half the team – probably more than that – would be in a trash can, puking,” Penning said. “It was a funny experience. Spencer and I actually would have to run with the tight ends because we were pretty fast. He was a big puker, I’ll say. He pukes a lot.”

Brown drew the attention of Bills’ scouts at the Senior Bowl last year with his passion for finishing blocks. Penning has showed it, too, this week.

“There’s nothing better than legally assaulting the guy across from you,” he said. “I think the first play for me at guard yesterday, me and the center took our guy for a ride and pancaked him on the ground.”

Penning and Brown started together in the 2019 season for Northern Iowa, which went 10-5 that year and reached the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals.

“Spencer Brown and Trevor Penning will go down as the best offensive tackle duo in FCS history,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said.

Penning set a Northern Iowa weight room record with a squat lift of 625 pounds.

“Mainly I’m trying to be the strongest, meanest toughest guy out there,” he said. “Being strong doesn’t hurt. At UNI, we prided ourselves in the weight room. We did a lot of lifting in the weight room. Over time, it really helps out.”