Tennessee Offensive Line Breakdown For 2025
O-line coach Glen Elarbee. Image: Athlon Sports.
By Cody McClure
Basketball season is in full swing. Baseball is right around the corner. But it’s never too early to start thinking about football season.
Thus, beginning today we’re going to be breaking down the outlook for Tennessee’s position groups in 2025.
We’ll do this every Friday, so please continue reading. As always, I appreciate it.
As football starts up front, so does this series.
The offensive line is one of, if not the biggest groups of concern coming out of the 2024 season.
Tennessee allowed way too much pressure against championship-level opponents Georgia and Ohio State.
The o-line held up better against Alabama, but when it came to beating the true big boys, Nico was running for his life.
Tennessee allowed 30 sacks altogether on the year. That was 86th-worst among FBS offensive lines. Teams got pressure on the Vols.
It wasn’t just Georgia and Ohio State, although those two games did account for nearly a third of the allowed sacks all season (nine of the 30).
Sacks allowed, of course, doesn’t tell the whole story about pass protection. Simply watching those games with a football eye would have shown you Tennessee’s o-line was outmatched. The pressure seemed endless.
The point is, pass protection wasn’t great in 2024.
Now, run blocking on the other hand, not as bad.
The Vols ranked 38th in the nation in tackles for loss allowed — not bad — plus the rush offense was No. 9 nationally with nearly 226 yards per game.
Tennessee was pretty good on the ground, in part due to the o-line and in part due to Dylan Sampson, who should have been a Doak Walker Award finalist.
Per usual under Josh Heupel, Tennessee committed a lot of penalties — many of which were pre-snap false starts, holding, etc., which would be considered a negative for an offensive line.
UT ranked No. 128 in the FBS in penalties with 105. Not good.
So how are things looking for 2025?
Tennessee returns just 26 percent of its offensive line production from last season (based on returning snaps):
The Vols return left tackle Lance Heard, who was for lack of a better term, underwhelming, for the first part of the 2024 season. Particularly in the loss at Arkansas.
It is worth noting, however, that Heard improved as the year went on. And he certainly has the natural talent and ability you’d want in an anchor for the o-line.
The other tackle could be freshman David Sanders, who everyone has been fired up about since he signed on the dotted line for the Vols.
What needs to be said, other than he’s a blue chip five-star talent and perhaps the best offensive tackle in the country for his age?
Bennett Warren, a former 4-star prospect with a wingspan of over seven feet (!) could also contribute at tackle. He’s a true lengthy tackle at 6-foot-7.
The Vols will likely rely on incoming transfer Wendell Moe (Arizona) at one of the guard spots. He’s a hoss at roughly 340 pounds and was once All-Pac 12 (RIP) for the Wildcats.
Moe started 27 games over three seasons at Arizona.
Another transfer, Sam Pendleton, who played for Notre Dame last season, is projected to help at guard as well. He earned a starting spot for the Irish by beating out two seniors for the job.
It’s possible that Pendleton could work in at center, as well, along with William Satterwhite. That may depend on the eligibility of Andrej Karic.
Karic is seeking another year at Tennessee after injuries limited him in 2023. If he’s cleared with a medical redshirt, he may end up at guard ultimately bumping Pendleton to center.
So those seven names — Heard, Sanders, Warren, Moe, Pendleton, Satterwhite, and Karic — should be the ones to watch as the Vols shape their new offensive line over the offseason.