The Volunteers were back on the practice field Tuesday morning as they continue to build toward their 2025 season opener against Syracuse at the end of the month.
Fifth-year offensive line coach
Glen Elarbee took to the podium following Tuesday's practice to talk about Tennessee's revamped unit up front.
Despite having to replace four starters from last year's group, there is plenty of optimism around the offensive line room this preseason with competition in the room at an all-time high.
Elarbee and company have assembled a good mix of experienced veterans to go along with a group of talented young players who have been developing and will look to step into larger roles.
Junior tackle
Lance Heard is the lone returning starter from last season and seems poised for a big year after a productive offseason that he used to get healthy and transform his body.
"He's changed his body, he's done a great job," Elarbee said when asked about Heard's offseason progress. "He's lost weight, but he hasn't lost an ounce of power and he's way stronger.
"He's redirecting better, his hands in pass pro are way better. Footwork, getting a base and being able to maintain blocks and create movement and play with violence – credit to guy, he's done an unreal job, really good job."
Underclassmen
Jesse Perry,
Shamurad Umarov,
William Satterwhite,
Bennett Warren and
Max Anderson are among a handful of returners from last year's team that are expected to contend for playing time and contribute this season.
After redshirting as a true freshman, Perry has made some major strides heading into his second season on Rocky Top and has caught the eye of the coaches.
"Jesse does everything right, absolutely everything," according to Elarbee. "From eating habits, recovery, film study, coaching other players, that's the reason he puts himself in the position that he's at.
"He gets his body, his body has changed so much since he's been here. He's highly intellectual, so he studies the crap out of everything. So that's what he does, you say, 'what is it?', but it's everything. You don't want to say anybody is perfect, but he is pretty close to doing everything right."
Tennessee also added five-star prospect
David Sanders Jr. and a pair of experienced transfers in
Wendell Moe Jr. and
Sam Pendleton to help bolster the unit.
Sanders Jr. has already made some big leaps from the spring by adding significant weight to his impressive frame, pairing that with his already elite athletic traits to give himself a very good chance to be an instant impact player at tackle this season.
"I think, one, just his body. Guy has done an incredible job of putting on weight and getting to a place where he can function here in the SEC," Elarbee said of the ultra-talented freshman. "Two, mentally, he's spent as much time or more time than anybody meeting, walking through and understanding there's still way more to keep going from where he was to where he is now."
Moe Jr. was a two-year starter at guard for Arizona, where he earned All-Pac-12 second team honors in 2023.
"As far as Wendell goes, the guy plays physical," Elarbee said. "He was really quiet at the start but has a way of igniting everybody when he does let out passion. He's super physical in the running game and highly intelligent.
"It's crazy, his football smarts, very similar to Cooper (Mays) in the fashion that he can understand what the defense is trying to do to him. He just has that sixth sense and how to react to it."
Pendleton joined the Vols in the spring after starting seven games for Notre Dame last season following a redshirt year as a true freshman in 2023.
"Yeah, he is the ultimate O-line's guy. He wants everybody hanging out outside the field," Elarbee said. "He wants to be physical, wants to stay in the game technique wise and wants to take incredible notes and just be an offensive lineman.
"I think that's sometimes few and far between to find somebody that enjoys the grind, enjoys the pain that shows up every day after practice and then does it with a smile on his face and encourages guys, like that's pretty special."
The offensive line group will look to continue building continuity in the coming days as the Big Orange don full pads for the first time this fall on Wednesday in preparation for their first scrimmage of the fall this weekend.