Former Tennessee offensive lineman Lance Heard will return to Neyland Stadium this weekend when Kentucky visits for a big SEC game against the Vols.

Heard, a former five-star recruit who started his career at LSU, spent the last two seasons at Tennessee before transferring to Kentucky.

The former Vol is having a terrific season with the Wildcats and he’s been projected by some analysts as a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Heard hasn’t said anything negative about his time at Tennessee since leaving Knoxville, but he’ll still likely be juiced up to return to Neyland Stadium on Saturday. He’s undoubtedly motivated to leave Knoxville with a win.

Some fans have speculated that Heard will give tips to the Kentucky offense and defense about some of the Vols’ players.

On Wednesday, Kentucky cornerback Hasaan Sykes confirmed that’s the case.

“With Lance, it’s great that he’s here,” said Sykes. “He gives us a little inside scoop of how they are players-wise, and just how they want to operate.”

Tennessee, like most teams, probably changes up their offensive signals a decent amount in the offseason (teams have to because of all the roster movement due to the portal), so I don’t think that’s an area where Heard will be able to help the Wildcats very much (and he definitely can’t help with the defensive signals since Tennessee has a new defensive coordinator).

But he can give his teammates tips on what certain players like to do and their tendencies (this is something that Peyton Manning actually pointed out on the ManningCast a few weeks ago that happens when players switch teams in the NFL). Maybe he can share something about Vols running back DeSean Bishop or wide receiver Mike Matthews that helps a Kentucky player make a tackle. Maybe what he shares doesn’t help at all. Either way, it’s something that Kentucky is clearly trying to use to their advantage.

We’ll see if any of it helps the Wildcats on Saturday night at 6:15 when these two contenders face off in a game that could eliminate the Vols from playoff contention if they don’t win.

It won’t be just Heard who is juiced up for this game, by the way.

It’s a rivalry game and everyone knows it’s personal regardless of what’s on the line.

“It’s another SEC opponent, but this is a more special one to this program just because it is more of a rivalry,” said Sykes. “We don’t like them and they don’t like us.”