Tag: Lance Heard

Josh Heupel provides update on Vols’ offensive line during open date

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel provides status of the Vols’ offensive line during Week 5 open date.

No. 6 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) enters its first open date of the regular-season in Week 5.

The Vols will return action on Oct. 5 at Arkansas.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media on Wednesday and discussed the Vols’ offensive tackles, including the status of John Campbell Jr. and Lance Heard for next week.

“There are a lot of good things that both of those guys did,” Heupel said. “There’s some things that we can be cleaner in. Some of that is communication. It gets to them. Some of it is them. A structural change that we saw during the course of the football game, too. Those guys being a little bit better, adjusting at it. All in all, a lot of really good things. It helped us get a win, so have to continue to improve. That’s with them and all of us.

“Yeah, I feel like we’ll have both of those guys when we get to Fayetteville.”

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Updated game day injury report for Tennessee football at Oklahoma

Updated game day injury report for Tennessee football against Oklahoma on Saturday.

No. 7 Tennessee (3-0) will kick off Southeastern Conference play on Saturday in Week 4. The Vols will play No. 13 Oklahoma (3-0) at 7:45 p.m. EDT in Norman, Oklahoma (ABC).

Sophomore offensive lineman Lance Heard will not play for Tennessee against the Sooners on Saturday, per the SEC student-athlete availability report.

Defensive backs John Slaughter and Jourdan Thomas, and offensive lineman Shamurad Umarov are also out for Tennessee in Week 4.

Linebacker Ben Bolton, offensive lineman William Satterwhite and defensive back William Wright are listed as probable against Oklahoma.

Beginning with the 2024-25 athletics calendar, Southeastern Conference schools will provide public reports on availability of student-athletes to participate in each conference game in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and baseball.

PHOTOS: Josh Heupel’s playing career at Oklahoma

John Slaughter. Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Tennessee will be without key offensive player against Oklahoma

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, the Tennessee Volunteers will be without one of their best players when they take on the Oklahoma Sooners.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been on the wrong side when it comes to injury luck early in the 2024 season. OU has been down multiple starters at key positions, most notably offensive line and wide receiver. It’s been a major talking point around the early portion of the year, as the Sooners have struggled on offense for the first three games.

But Oklahoma may finally be getting a break regarding the injury bug, as it’ll be affecting their opponent this week at a key spot.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Tennessee Volunteers will be without starting left tackle Lance Heard when they face the Sooners. Thamel’s report is confirmed by the updated injury report from the SEC that lists Heard as out.

It’ll be backup Dayne Davis making the start in Heard’s place as one of Tennessee’s best offensive linemen battles a leg injury. Davis is experienced and will be making his eighth start.

 

As the Sooners try to pull the upset at home, they look like they’ll be getting back some key players of their own. OU hopes to have [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], [autotag]Branson Hickman[/autotag], and [autotag]Troy Everett[/autotag], among others, on the field against the Vols.

The chess match between Tennessee head coach [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag] and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and Oklahoma head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]Zac Alley[/autotag] gets a little bit more interesting with Heard not in the game.

The biggest beneficiary might be defensive end [autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag], who took over late in OU’s victory last week over Tulane. He’s become the best pass rusher the Sooners have, and he’ll look to gain an edge on the blind side of Nico Iamaleava.

The Sooners and the Volunteers will kick things off at 6:30 p.m., a primetime audience for a highly-anticipated contest on ABC.

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Josh Heupel discusses Lance Heard adjusting to new offense, environment

Josh Heupel discusses offensive line transfer Lance Heard adjusting to new offense and environment.

Tennessee kicked off spring practices on Monday at Anderson Training Center.

Sophomore Lance Heard took part in his first spring practice with the Vols. The 6-foot-6, 335-pound offensive lineman transferred from LSU to Tennessee on Jan. 21.

Following Tennessee’s first spring practice, fourth-year head coach Josh Heupel discussed Heard adjusting to a new offense and environment.

“He’s a really young player that played snaps and played well when he had the opportunity,” Heupel said. “He’s a young player that’s going to have to continue to grow. He has to develop and grow into being a pro in how he handles himself every single day.

“He’s been awesome inside of our building, developing relationships and how he’s competed every day. The guys that we took from the transfer portal, that recruitment happens really quickly, and it’s been a great group that has come in the building and tried to blend in and mesh into our team culture extremely quickly. They’ve handled themselves with a lot of maturity. He’s handled himself with maturity. On the field, he’s a young player that’s seven or eight months into his college football career. He’s just beginning his journey, fundamentals and technique, understanding what we are doing offensively and the communication that’s going to have to happen up front, and when we play with tempo, being able to function and operate within that. He’s in the beginning stages. He’s uber-talented and been great in the building. I expect him to grow a bunch here over the next 14 practices.”

Heard appeared in 12 games, including on start, for LSU in 2023.

PHOTOS: Tennessee kicks off 2024 spring football practices

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Former LSU offensive tackle Lance Heard commits to Tennessee

Lance Heard appeared in 12 games for the Tigers as a true freshman in 2023.

As was largely expected, former LSU offensive tackle [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] made his commitment to Tennessee official on Sunday.

The former five-star recruit from Monroe appeared in 12 games as a true freshman this season, starting one of them at right tackle. Though he appeared poised to compete for a starting role in 2024, he didn’t travel with the team to the ReliaQuest Bowl as coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said he was evaluating his future with the program.

That process ultimately led him to enter the portal, where Tennessee quickly emerged as the favorite to land him. He’ll have three remaining years of eligibility with the Vols.

It’s a tough loss for the Tigers because you never want to lose a prized recruit, especially to an SEC rival, but they do return both starting tackles in 2024. With [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag] coming back, the path to the field for Heard wasn’t exactly clear.

Now, he’ll look to compete for a starting job in Knoxville.

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Social media reacts to Lance Heard’s commitment to Tennessee football

Social media reacts to Lance Heard’s commitment to Tennessee football.

LSU freshman offensive lineman Lance Heard entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 2.

He committed to Tennessee on Sunday.

Heard appeared in 12 games, including one start against Army, for LSU in 2023.

The 6-foot-6, 340-pound freshman went to LSU from Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana.

Heard joins Jaxson Moi (defensive line), Miles Kitselman (tight end), Jalen McMurray (cornerback), Jermod McCoy (cornerback), Holden Staes (tight end), Chris Brazzell (wide receiver) and Jakobe Thomas (safety) as student-athletes who transferred to Tennessee during the offseason.

Following Heard’s commitment to Tennessee on Sunday, Vols Wire looks at social media reaction:

LSU offensive line transfer Lance Heard commits to Tennessee

LSU offensive line transfer Lance Heard commits to Tennessee.

LSU offensive tackle Lance Heard entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 2.

He committed to Tennessee on Sunday.

The 6-foot-6, 340-pound freshman is from Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana.

Heard is the No. 18 overall prospect in the NCAA transfer portal and No. 3 offensive tackle. He ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect, and as a five-star, in the class of 2023. The former Tiger ranked as the No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 2 player in Louisiana, according to 247Sports.

Heard appeared in 12 games, including on start, for LSU in 2023.

Tennessee will kick off its 2024 season versus Chattanooga on Aug. 31 at Neyland Stadium. 2024 will be the fourth season for the Vols under head coach Josh Heupel.

READ: 2024 football schedules for every SEC school

https://twitter.com/lanceheard2/status/1749118639788151107

LSU offensive lineman Lance Heard expected to transfer to Tennessee

Lance Heard’s name reportedly appeared in the University of Tennessee’s student directory Friday.

LSU transfer offensive lineman [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] has reportedly found a home.

On Thursday, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Heard was expected to transfer to Tennessee. We seemingly got confirmation of that move on Friday as Heard’s name appeared in the University of Tennessee’s student directory, according to On3’s Austin Price.

Heard was a true freshman in 2023 and a former five-star recruit from Monroe. He appeared in 12 of 13 games as the swing tackle this season, making one start at right tackle.

He was expected to contend for a starting job in 2024, but with both tackles returning in [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag], he’s heading elsewhere.

Now it seems he’ll be staying in the SEC, though he won’t appear on the Tigers’ schedule in 2024 unless both teams meet in the conference title game.

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Pair of LSU offensive lineman plan to return in 2024

The Tigers will be bringing four of five starting offensive linemen back in 2024.

LSU is set to return four of its five starters along the offensive line.

Both starting guards [autotag]Garrett Dellinger[/autotag] and [autotag]Miles Frazier[/autotag] plan to return to Baton Rouge in 2024 despite being draft-eligible, they reportedly told On3’s Shea Dixon. With tackles [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] not being draft-eligible, center [autotag]Charles Turner[/autotag] is the only starter who won’t be back next season.

The pair has seen a lot of action in the last few seasons. Dellinger has started 23 of 34 games he’s appeared in over the last three seasons, including all 13 this past fall. Frazier, meanwhile, is a transfer from Florida International and has started all but one of the 26 games he’s appeared in since joining the Tigers in 2022.

LSU has seen some losses along the offensive line as [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] entered the portal and [autotag]Mason Lunsford[/autotag] retired, but it brings back a lot of starting experience and a promising young center in [autotag]DJ Chester[/autotag], who will likely replace Turner.

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Former LSU offensive tackle Lance Heard receives transfer prediction in favor of SEC foe

Lance Heard may be staying in the SEC after entering the transfer portal.

Former LSU offensive tackle [autotag]Lance Heard[/autotag] may be staying in the SEC.

After appearing in 12 games as a true freshman with one start at right tackle, the former five-star recruit from Monroe, Louisiana, opted to enter the transfer portal. And on Friday, he received a prediction in favor of the Tennessee Volunteers from On3.

We’ll see if that ultimately comes to pass given the fact that it was only logged as a 70% confidence prediction. Heard took a visit to Knoxville last weekend followed by a trip to Norman to visit Oklahoma this week.

Many thought Heard could compete for a starting job next season, but with both tackles returning in [autotag]Will Campbell[/autotag] and [autotag]Emery Jones[/autotag], it was far from a guarantee.

At least Heard and Tennessee won’t be on LSU’s schedule in 2024, if that is ultimately his transfer decision.

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