Former Vols offensive lineman Lance Heard will make his return to Neyland Stadium this weekend when Kentucky visits for a matchup against Tennessee.

Heard transferred from Tennessee to Kentucky in January after spending the last two seasons as the Vols’ left tackle.

Tennessee would’ve welcomed Heard back in 2026, but he was likely going to be asked to move to right tackle so sophomore David Sanders Jr, a former five-star recruit, could move to left tackle.

Heard, who is also a former five-star recruit, preferred to stay at left tackle. His agent allegedly asked for a “gargantuan” amount of money to stay at Tennessee.

“Lance Heard had a really good solid year,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price last January. “His agent asked for a gargantuan amount of money, and Tennessee was not willing to do that. They liked the growth that David Sanders had over the last month and a half of the season, and how he played in the bowl game. And they liked what Jesse Perry brought them at right tackle early in the year. And so Tennessee felt good enough to where they were like, ‘Okay, Lance, we like you at this [price], but we don’t like you at this amount of money.’ And so they decided to part ways. That’s part of the new business model that is college athletics.”

Heard has faced some criticism for his decision to not move to right tackle. Charlie Burris and I, in fact, recorded a segment for the Big Orange Podcast where we suggested that Heard made a mistake by not agreeing to move to right tackle and stay at Tennessee.

But after reflecting on it, I think we were the ones who made the mistake.

I always talk about the human element of sports, and I think that’s worth looking at with Heard’s situation.

Heard played well for the Vols at left tackle last season. He didn’t do anything to lose that spot. So I can understand if he was frustrated that he was asked to move to another position to accommodate a player that hadn’t seen any snaps at left tackle at the collegiate level.

Tennessee didn’t want to “overpay” Heard to move to right tackle, so the two sides parted ways.

Heard essentially bet on himself, and that bet is paying off as he’s put himself in the first round conversation for the 2027 NFL Draft (and he’s playing for a team that has a shot at reaching the College Football Playoff).

I understand why Tennessee wanted to move Sanders to left tackle. I also understand why Heard felt he deserved to stay at left tackle. That’s just how things are going in the transfer portal era.

Heard, by the way, hasn’t said anything bad — at least publicly — about Tennessee. He’s simply put his head down and went to work at Kentucky.

“Lance played good football last year,” said Price on Tuesday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “I think he has certainly played really good football this year. And for Tennessee, they’ve got to figure out a way to keep Lance from doing that (on Saturday). But Lance is a good player, and Lance is a good kid. He’s always been super nice to me. You like to see good kids have success — even if they’re no longer here (at Tennessee). So I wish him all the best.”

No one nails every take — I know I certainly don’t — and I missed it with Heard. He had every right to bet on himself, and good for him for continuing to work hard and find success.