One of the Tennessee Vols’ biggest transfer additions ahead of the 2024 season was offensive tackle Lance Heard.
Heard, a former five-star recruit, transferred to Tennessee after spending his true freshman season with the LSU Tigers.
The Louisiana native played in 11 games for the Volunteers in 2024. Heard missed the Vols’ wins against Kent State and Oklahoma due to injury.
Heard, who started at left tackle for Tennessee last season, struggled throughout the 2024 season, earning just a 44.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
There was some speculation that Heard wasn’t completely healthy after returning from an injury early in the season.
On Saturday, while meeting with reporters after practice, Heard admitted that he was never fully healthy last year, which impacted his performance on the field.
“The biggest difference (this spring) is my health,” said Heard. “Last year, it was kind of a battle for me with having two separate injuries. I had an injury in maybe the second or third game and was out for maybe three to four weeks. That was a challenge. That was a challenge mentally. And [I] came back and had another injury [in] the Florida game.
“And I was saying to myself, I can’t continue to sit out. I can’t miss that many games. I was playing injured the entire year, you know, fighting through it. And it was challenging mentally for me. Now I just feel healthier. And being in this offense is getting more comfortable for me.”
Heard noted that he never felt better than 75 percent last season while adding that the injuries hampered his play “a lot” because he couldn’t move like he wanted to.
Fortunately for Heard and the Vols, it sounds like the former five-star recruit is in a much better spot health-wise this spring. And that should lead to better performance on the field.
Vols offensive line coach Glen Elarbee also spoke to reporters on Saturday and he had plenty of praise for Heard.
“It hurt you missing fall camp, you had the ankle and did a phenomenal job of battling through it, but that didn’t help you,” said Elarbee when asked what his message was to Heard after the 2024 season. “We gotta get better in the areas that I listed in spring with the protection and staying in a good base and the run game, footwork and learning the game. And he was not only agreeing, but like wanting help on how to do it….He wants to be elite and he’s done everything in his power to be a leader and be elite. He’s just gotta keep pushing.”
Heard has NFL-caliber talent. Now that he’s healthy and has a better understanding of Tennessee’s offense, we should see his game reach another level in 2025.
