Imagine going from protecting Jayden Daniels one football season to protecting Nico Iamaleava the next.
Such is the case for Tennessee sophomore Lance Heard, who is working at first-team left tackle this spring after spending his freshman year at LSU. Heard competed in all 12 regular-season games for the Tigers last season, earning one start at right tackle and playing 195 snaps overall without allowing a sack.
Heard earned a spot on the Southeastern Conference's all-freshman team, and Volunteers fourth-year offensive line coach Glen Elarbee is understandably giddy to have the 6-foot-6, 335-pounder.
"The guy has unbelievable length and natural ability, so protecting the passer is going to be a big improvement," Elarbee said Monday in a news conference that followed the fifth spring practice. "He's just a big human. He's got the ability to move four eyes in the run game.
"That's where I feel like Darnell (Wright) changed our run game a lot, and I feel like Lance will have that ability, too. He got to LSU in the summer and had to play in the fall, so he's really just going through his first offseason."
Heard was a top-15 national prospect in the 2023 signing cycle out of Monroe, Louisiana, so he was obviously quite coveted once he got in the portal. His lone start for the Tigers occurred in the 62-0 trouncing of Army, and he had come off the bench the previous week against Auburn and played a season-high 59 snaps in that 48-18 triumph, when Daniels threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 8.5 yards a carry.
With a third of spring practice in the books, Heard is adjusting to different landscapes on and off the field.
"The city is definitely different," Heard said. "I'm not used to seeing all the mountains and stuff. I really didn't know anyone here, so it was kind of a big-boy decision to make to come this far away from home."
Although Heard played right tackle at LSU and John Campbell Jr. was a nine-game starter at left tackle for the Vols last season, Elarbee decided to flip the two. The 6-5, 330-pound Campbell will be a unique seventh-year senior in the upcoming season and is in his second year at Tennessee after spending five at Miami.
"I'm a team guy, so I'll do whatever to help the team grow," Campbell said Monday of the switch. "It's fine with me. I've played them both before. I love practicing with Lance. That's my boy. He's bringing the same energy I'm bringing, and we're pretty much the same body type.
"I'm helping him grow, and he has come in and given me a push so we can both keep striving for greatness."
Heard had to adjust to Tennessee's rapid offensive tempo and said Monday that things are starting to slow for him on that front. He is also excited to block for a preseason Heisman Trophy hopeful — "I knew that Nico was a great player. We came from the same class," Heard said — after helping last year's winner.
Elarbee helped develop Wright into the 10th overall pick of the 2023 draft, and to produce such a quick comparison speaks volumes.
"Lance has been adjusting really, really well, and I think he's done it the right way," Elarbee said. "He's stayed quiet and learned, and he's interjected when he needed to. He's flashed some really, really good bright spots, but he's still young, and we're still working on some things technique-wise.
"He comes to work every day, and the room loves him."
Giving his thanks
Iamaleava met with the media Monday for the first time since guiding the Vols to a 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day.
Much has transpired since then, most notably the NCAA investigating Tennessee's recruitment of Iamaleava, the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia bringing a lawsuit against the NCAA, and the NCAA announcing at the beginning of this month that it was halting all investigations into booster-based collectives making name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with Division I athletes.
Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman, athletic director Danny White and football coach Josh Heupel quickly spoke out against the NCAA for its lack of clarity from the start on NIL matters.
"It felt great to know that all the guys behind the scenes are behind us and all the student-athletes," Iamaleava said. "I think Coach Heup and the whole staff have done a great job of keeping us focused on what the main goal is, and that's to be a student-athlete at the university.
"I'm focused on ball, and I'm glad that's all past us."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.