LSU HC Brian Kelly gets real about losing former 5-star OL Lance Heard to Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols

The Tennessee Vols made one of the biggest transfer portal additions of the offseason by swiping offensive lineman Lance Heard from the LSU Tigers.

Heard, who was rated as a five-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting cycle, transferred to Tennessee in January after the Vols developed a need for a starting offensive tackle (thanks to Gerald Mincey's transfer to Kentucky ).

The Louisiana native played in all 12 regular season games as a true freshman for LSU in 2023.

On Monday, at SEC Media Days in Dallas, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly was asked about losing Heard to the Volunteers.

The third year LSU head coach offered some classy comments on Heard's departure from Baton Rouge.

"You don't want to lose anybody [in] your program that you've recruited," said Kelly. "But, you know, there are times within your program that you present what the situation is and if it's not agreeable to both sides then you have to move on. We wish him the best and hope he has great success. He's a good kid. And he gets a chance to play at an SEC school that will give him a high profile and an opportunity to have great success. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. It doesn't mean that anybody is as fault as much as we hope he has great success where he is."

Heard was going to be behind Will Campbell on the depth chart at LSU in 2024, which is likely the "situation" that was presented to the former Tiger (Campbell is expected to be one of the top selections in the 2025 NFL Draft).

Vols head coach Josh Heupel noted earlier this spring that Heard's been "awesome" since arriving in Knoxville.

"He's been awesome inside of our building, developing relationships and how he's competed every day...he's handled himself with maturity," said Heupel this spring when asked about Heard.

At Tennessee, Heard will slot in at left tackle with John Campbell, a Miami transfer, moving to right tackle (Campbell played at left tackle for the Vols in 2023).

Related: Tennessee HC Josh Heupel and Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin provided an important reminder for college football fans this offseason