Big Blue Nation was on pins and needles. Anxiety reached an all-time high after Kentucky missed on a couple of offensive tackle targets. They just got one of the best.

Lance Heard is transferring from Tennessee to Kentucky, he tells Hayes Fawcett. The former left tackle for the Vols is the second-ranked offensive tackle and the No. 20 overall player in the transfer portal. He has one final year of college football to climb up NFL Draft boards.

The multi-time transfer started his career at LSU in 2023 when Kentucky offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was on Brian Kelly‘s staff. Heard then moved to Tennessee, where he was a two-year starter at left tackle who made a huge jump in 2025. The Louisiana native is considered one of the best left tackles in college football.

Heard was a Third Team All-SEC selection last fall. He played pretty well at Kroger Field, earning SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors for the performance. During his time in Baton Rouge, he secured a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team while rotating in at right tackle. He’s bringing 25 career starts with him to Kentucky. He has only allowed three sacks in his entire career.

New Kentucky offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich is building his unit from scratch. Needing to find five new starters, the Wildcats have been aggressive in the transfer portal. In addition to Heard, C Coleton Price was one of the top-ranked players at his position. The Wildcats also acquired a couple of former four-star talents, Olaus Alinen and Max Anderson, to compete for starting spots at offensive guard. Things are coming together nicely for the new-look Big Blue Wall.

Joe Sloan‘s Louisiana connections are coming in handy for the Cats. The Kentucky offensive coordinator was coaching quarterbacks at LSU during Heard’s time in Baton Rouge. Those connections are ensuring Kenny Minchey will be well protected at Kroger Field next fall.

Lance Heard is the 16th addition to Will Stein’s transfer portal class.

Player Position High School Former School Year Olaus Alinen G/T (6-6, 322) Windson (Conn.) The Loomis Chaffee School Alabama Redshirt Junior Jesse Anderson DB Ft. Lauderdale (Fl.) Cardinal Gibbons Pitt Redshirt Junior Max Anderson iOL (6-5, 311) Frisco (Texas) High Tennessee Redshirt Sophomore Jovantae Barnes RB (6-0, 211) Las Vegas (Nev.) Desert Pines Oklahoma Redshirt Senior Ahmad Breaux iDL (6-3, 278) Ruston (La.) High LSU Junior Jordan Castell S (6-2, 213) Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange Florida Senior Xavier Daisy WR (6-3, 210) Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian School UAB Junior Aaron Gates Nickel (6-0, 198) Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Florida Redshirt Junior Lance Heard LT (6-6, 330) Bonita (La.) Neville LSU | Tennessee Redshirt Senior Jamarrion Harkless iDL (6-3, 315) Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass Purdue Redshirt Junior Kenny Minchey QB (6-2, 208) Hendersonville (Tenn.) Pope John Paul II Notre Dame Redshirt Junior Antonio O’Berry EDGE (6-6, 240) Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne Tiffin (D-II) | Gardner-Webb 6th-Year Senior Coleton Price iOL (6-3, 318) Bowie (Texas) High Baylor Redshirt Senior Hasaan Sykes CB (6-0, 185) Tuckert (Ga.) High Western Carolina Junior Tavion Wallace LB (6-1, 239) Baxley (Ga.) Appling County Arkansas Sophomore Dominic Wiseman DL (6-2, 300) Davenport North (Iowa) HS South Alabama Redshirt Senior

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