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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – 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.
The full transcript from Elarbee’s Tuesday press conference can be seen below.
OL Coach Glen Elarbee Transcript (8.5.25)
On the transition of losing Cooper Mays…
“First, Coop, it’s unbelievable what he has been able to do mentally and physically, so it’s a big set of shoes to fill. I really do think (William) Satterwhite and Sam (Pendleton) are both competing their butts off. They’re in extra, they’re working at it. They’re sharing at practice. There are things you have to clean up, but they’re trying to learn every single day. We’ll be there. The best thing we have is competition, so those guys have to keep fighting to see who actually gets to go out there.”
On what the constant factor has been over the years with high run-game numbers…
“One, you have to play really, really hard. That’s one thing you’re focusing on at the very beginning of camp, it doesn’t matter the position. Then, you’re trying to give yourself as many advantages (as possible) when it’s time to run the ball, box-wise, run it. When it isn’t, you throw it. Typically, it’s been working out. Probably just a credit to the guys blocking and running the ball, they’ve done a heck of a job together to do what they’ve done.”
On Jesse Perry’s offseason…
“Jesse does everything right, absolutely everything. 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.”
On fundamentals implemented in this camp and the response from the O-line…
“I think technique, fundamentally, our hands, protection, first strike, the run-game, elbows being tight and fitting at the second level, all of those are major focuses. Obviously, everything has to be footwork and hips and those types of things, but the hands have been a tremendous focus for these first five days.”
On the difference between having competition versus knowing who your starters would be…
“Every team set, you try to move guys around a little bit and let them play and function together inside that team set. Different lineups, different sides, give them a true chance of competing inside of that. The next team set will be a different group and then the next day that rotates around. They get a bunch of runs one day, get a bunch of protection. But you give them the opportunity to go win it and put it in their hands. If it’s not on tape, you can’t go start. If you put it on tape, you get to go start.”
On how ready David Sanders is…
“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. 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. Unreal and credit to him. Then, just technique wise, it’s so rewarding when you see him change something on pass set or change something in the run game technique wise, and it works. The light clicks, and then you get to go move on to the next thing. He just consistently, every day, he’s ticketing off something, and he just keeps building the climb. He’s done a great job.”
On if he can identify group chemistry before game day…
“Until you get into the fire, you never truly know. Right? You just don’t. The thing I do love about this group is they sacrifice for each other, like, they are in there for each other. Yeah, every single one of them wants to go start, and I want them too, but they also try to go help the guy next to them and behind them. I feel like naturally we will have chemistry. We have done enough over the summer and over fall camp, where guys have had to move to enough positions where they are used to communicating with each other. We feel like we are going to be good, but you never know until you actually get out there.”
On having Sam Pendleton on the team and the culture he brings…
“Yeah, he is the ultimate O-line’s guy. He wants everybody hanging out outside the field. 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. Now, 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.”
On what he looks for in David Sanders to tell he is able to start as a freshman…
“One the mental assignment part of it. You have to be able to go to the right guy. Two, the technique of what you are doing when you get there. I’m not sure any of these are in a particular order. Like you got both those, and then for sure you have to go play incredibly hard, strain, and try to go bury somebody. If you can go to the right guy, do a good technique and do it really hard, he’ll be ready to go.”
On Lance Heard’s offseason progression…
“He’s changed his body, he’s done a great job. We were laughing off in the staff room that some had mistaken Lance for some of the other, skinnier tackles because he’s done such a great job of getting his weight under. He’s lost weight, but he hasn’t lost an ounce of power, 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, create movement and play with violence. Credit to that guy, he’s done an unreal job.”
On William Satterwhite’s development, and where he has improved since his first season…
“Being able to ID everything, he does a great job at that, and you’ve got to be able to get the ball to the quarterback so he can function. We’re still cleaning some of that up. After that, he’s never played with an ounce of fear, he throws his body around, he plays physical and you get everything out of it. He has to continue to build his body to be able to handle the stress of the season. He has to go do the same thing that Sam (Pendleton) has to go do. It’s not that crazy different.”
On Lance Heard, and how much more equipped he is this year than last…
“When he started in January, he wanted to know the bigger picture. He wanted to know everything that was going on around him more, how the defense is functioning, what we’re trying to attack on offense. I think through that growth, he’s able to see the game a little bit differently, he understands what we’re trying to do concept-wise, running or protection, what the defense is trying to do against us. Just studying more than what he does and what the great tackles do, but how it all fits together.”
On the importance of a starting center displaying leadership and other “intangibles” …
“It’s like a quarterback, that guy has to get his function, everyone has to believe in him, if he can’t make that ID quickly, can’t carry himself the right way, while the rest of the guys do it. I believe the center has got to be the heartbeat of what’s going on. Cooper did a phenomenal job of that.”
On Wendell Moe Jr.’s strengths, as well as the potential for rotation at the o-line…
“I think you always want to rotate, if you have the ability. I do feel like, inside, we have a bunch of guys that can do it, I feel like we are building that depth at tackle, where that will be a possibility. As far as Wendell goes, the guy plays physical. 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. Even looks, and you don’t get to coach every single look, his general reaction to things that happen are typically right.”
