Healthy, leaner Lance Heard eager to lead new-look Tennessee offensive line

Lance Heard was the headliner for Tennessee football last offseason in the transfer portal as the former five-star and top-ranked signee for LSU made his way to Rocky Top following his freshman campaign.

A July procedure on his knee set back the left tackle and it was as if Heard was playing catchup the rest of the way. It was not the debut season he envisioned with the Vols.

“There was never a point in last year where last year where I was feeling 100 percent healthy,” Heard admitted at Media day on Tuesday. “I was always battling something.”

He missed nearly all contact periods in fall camp. Heard was not in playing shape. Then, two games into the season, the tackle missed two games with the same lingering knee issue. Once he was back, it was like starting from scratch. The Vols were in true midseason form, but Heard was far from it.

“I think the biggest challenge was battling it mentally because I’ve never been that low,” Heard reflected. “That was probably one of my lowest points in my life. But I still came and grinded. I still love the game, you know, but that was a big challenge for me mentally and I feel like I’m pretty mentally strong. But it was a challenge definitely.”

The result was a lackluster 2024 campaign, his first with Tennessee. Heard came on strong to finish the season, but it felt as if his best football was not played in 2024. Still, the newcomer was a part of an offensive line that paved the way for 2,942 rushing yards and a fourth-straight year of 2500+ yards on the ground – a feat that had not been achieved in the modern era of Tennessee football.    

Fast-forward to fall camp 2025 and the junior is feeling good. He’s healthy and has dropped nearly 30 pounds this offseason. Heard is moving around better and carrying more confidence. He will need it, too, as he is the lone returner on the offensive line for Tennessee this fall.  

“Almost night and day. Probably the best I’ve felt in a little while,” Heard continued. “I feel healthy. I feel strong. Probably the best I’ve felt in a while going into a fall camp.”

Count Tennessee offensive coordinator as a believer in what Heard can do in the trenches. The second-year play-caller has high hopes for the former five-star this fall.

“We expect him to take a huge jump this year. He is a very talented young man,” the coordinator said. “He has the size, the foot speed, the length, everything that you want in a left tackle. I am looking forward to seeing how he takes the field this fall, completely healthy, ready to go and taking that game to the next level.”

Heard and the rest of his teammates hit the field for the first practice of fall camp Wednesday morning. Now healthy, it’s up to Heard to set the standard for this new-look offensive line.