Tennessee lands transfer commitment from LSU OL Zalance Heard

The Tennessee Volunteers have landed a major commitment out of the transfer portal in former five-star offensive lineman Zalance Heard from LSU, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

He served as a backup on the Tigers’ offensive line as a true freshman during the 2023 season.

Zalance Heard played high school football at Monroe (La.) Neville, where he was a five-star recruit. He was the No. 22 overall prospect and No. 4 OT in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Back during his high school days, Zalance Heard transferred to Monroe after playing his sophomore season at Bastrop (La.) High. He was a first-team all-district selection in 2020 at Bastrop.

Heard could be an impact defensive lineman in college, but he moved to offensive line exclusively as a junior to get ready for the next level. Heard plans on majoring in either history or kinesiology. He’s said his hobby is playing video games. His parents are Rodney Williams and Veronica Heard, and he has a sibling, Rodney.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

More on Tennessee’s transfer class

Heard is a massive boost for a Tennessee program that hasn’t been quite as active in landing transfers as some of their SEC brethren. Among what is now a 16-team conference, the Volunteers currently rank 14th in the league in On3’s Team Transfer Portal Rankings, as they had just seven commits compared to 12 departures prior to the Heard news.

The addition of a former five-star recruit will no doubt help their standing in the conference and in the national rankings, where they rank 56th per On3.

The Volunteers took some hits on the offensive line in this portal cycle and certainly needed to beef up their room after losing several guys, like Gerald Mincey, Maurice Clipper and Addison Nichols. Mincey in particular was a tough loss since he played in all 13 games for Tennessee in 2023 and even started six of them at right tackle before deciding to transfer to rival Kentucky.

Clipper wound up committing to Tulane and Nichols also stayed in the SEC and landed at Arkansas after entering the portal. But a recruiting win like Heard could certainly help Vol fans forget about those losses.