Tennessee football returns all but one piece of its typical starting offensive line when healthy from last season. The only departing piece is left tackle Lance Heard, who entered the transfer portal and later committed and signed with Kentucky to round out his career.
Now, Heard is receiving national praise. As we count down the days until fall camp, On3’s Ari Wasserman put together a list of the top 10 transfer portal moves that could shape teams in 2026. He put Heard on that list.
Heard projects to start at left tackle for the Wildcats in 2026. He joins former Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein in Lexington, who now serves as Kentucky’s head coach.
NEW: 10 college football transfer portal moves that could shape teams in 2026🔥
(via @AriWasserman) https://t.co/mASi6VGBGI pic.twitter.com/JD8Z4GzAZk
— On3 (@On3) June 7, 2026
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During spring camp with Tennessee, Heard wasn’t too open to talking about his time in Knoxville. Early in the presser, he was asked about his perception of UK while at UT.
“I don’t know, I just know they always had really good o-linemen,” Heard said, via a recording from Jeff Drummond on YouTube. “I did know that part.”
Then, he was asked about his time at Tennessee and how practices compare to Kentucky’s.
“It was different, man,” Heard said. “I don’t really want to talk about Tennessee. That’s the second Tennessee question. I don’t want to talk about Tennessee.”
Heard will return to Knoxville next season. Tennessee hosts the Wildcats on Nov. 7, 2026. The kick-off time and TV designation are yet to be determined. It will be just after a bye week for UT, as well, giving it an extra week to prepare for Stein in his first year.
