There have been massive changes in college football in recent history. Tennessee has benefitted from the changes greatly. However, the Vols now find themselves in an unenviable position of paying a transfer a pile of money and not getting the expected results. You know who I’m talking about.

Yes, I’m referring to Lance Heard, the offensive tackle who wasn’t available to play against Oklahoma on Saturday despite reportedly practicing all week before the matchup against the Sooners.

Just about everything negative that could be said about Heard, who is dealing with a bum ankle, has been said on talk shows or hinted at on message boards. Some have said he’s using leverage to get more money from the Vols. One well-placed source at Tennessee told Off The Hook Sports that was not the case and that financial terms are taken care of way before any player hits the field in preseason camp. 

There are exceptions if a player is approached with an NIL offer during the season. You might remember that happening when Mercedes of Knoxville decided to move forward on a marketing endeavor with former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. That move was made just after the Vols’ beat Alabama in 2022. Hooker was worth it, but he didn’t miss practice time negotiating the deal nor shooting the commercial that he was featured in. However, we can completely rule that out in Heard’s case. He hasn’t played enough at Tennessee to earn an endorsement from Yugo of Knoxville

There have been some that think agents are taking over college football and could ruin the sport, especially after two UNLV players decided it would be best for them just to hang it up this season after NIL promises reportedly had been made and went unfulfilled. 

The same thing happened at Florida when Jaden Rashada showed up in Gainesville ready to enroll and sign his NIL deal. There was one problem. The Florida booster club didn’t have the cash, so Rashada played at Arizona State before transferring to Georgia.

Here’s the good news for Tennessee fans. First, UT head coach Josh Heupel and his NIL support staff are too smart to make a huge mistake like missing a payment to a key player. That’s just not going to happen at Tennessee. At UNLV? Yes, that’s more likely. At Florida? Well, that’s just downright embarrassing.

Tennessee won’t have that problem because the Vols are incredibly well funded in all areas, including NIL. Therefore, let’s set that aside as the reason that Heard didn’t make the trip to Oklahoma. The rumors you’ve heard about Heard possibly trying to get some more Big Orange cash just aren’t true. However, there’s one other issue that might still rankle your feathers.

I do have every reason to believe that an agent, or someone representing Heard, was a part of the decision for Heard not to play against the Sooners. I have no problem with that.

Heard, like any player, feels the emotional pull to play through an injury because his teammates depend on him. He also probably feels pressure to get on the field to prove he’s worth the seven-digit sum that he has been paid by the Vols, according to a source close to his recruitment from LSU during the offseason. 

That’s why someone else needed to step in and help make a decision, whether that’s a parent or an agent. Coaches aren’t tasked with keeping players healthy. They’re tasked with winning games.

There are plenty of players that don’t have the parental support to handle NIL negotiations. I’m a parent and I’m not sure I would be ready for all of that. I’d turn to someone with more business acumen in that realm. After all, millions are on the line. Protecting one’s health is nothing to be ashamed of.

That certainly seems to be what Heard is doing. However, we don’t know much about his representation and what the end game might be for someone trying to get a slice of Heard’s pay check now and into the future. If that representation decided that Heard was at risk to further injure his ankle, it’s that person’s job to step up. Even though NIL is less than five years old, this is nothing new.

How many times do you think a parent has called a coach about his son’s health and/or playing time? Probably daily. If I were a coach like Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, I’d rather deal with an agent, as long as he’s professional, than a parent, who can be far more emotional than an agent should be.

Heupel also deserves some of the blame in the Heard situation because of his old-school gamesmanship. When asked about Heard during his press conference on Wednesday, Heupel just said that he expected Heard to play in the Vols’ next game, against Arkansas on Oct. 5. It would have been nice for Heupel to defend Heard given the chatter among the community questioning Heard’s dedication to the Vols’ program. That, however, isn’t the Heupel way.

While the Heard case is a bit vague, there is nothing wrong with players having representation. In fact, I’d suggest it for any player moving forward. They don’t know their worth. Their parents don’t either. I’d expect agents in college football to become as common as ticket price increases.

I covered a player that could have used some representation. Former Tennessee linebacker Jason Mitchell played most of the 2005 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. That should have never been allowed to happen, but the Vols were trying to squeeze everything they could out of a team that would finish the season 5-6 and 3-5 in the SEC. Mitchell got caught up in the whole mess and had no one to fight on his behalf. Isn’t that the coaches job?

Tennessee’s coaching staff, led by former coach Phillip Fulmer, should have never let Mitchell play once he was told of the diagnosis. However, there’s a strong conflict of interest for any coach in that position. He’d like to save his job more than a player’s knee and, subsequent, earning potential in the NFL.

Mitchell had no NFL future after he continued to shred his knee while playing in 10 games that season. The entire situation should be considered a stain on Fulmer and former UT defensive coordinator John Chavis’ resume. 

They shouldn’t have allowed Mitchell to play no matter how hard he begged. Moreover, Mitchell went from an athletic linebacker with a professional future to an average player in 2005. There were backups at 100-percent that could have played as well as Mitchell, was at least two steps slower as he tried to overcome the severely injured knee. 

Maybe some viewed Mitchell’s willingness to play as tough and valiant. Perhaps it was. However, it was, in fact, a very poor decision and incredibly short sighted.

As for the NFL, there would be none of that for Mitchell. He gave his all to a losing team, a program that failed him and didn’t get a dime because NIL was still 15 seasons away. 

I’m certainly not suggesting that Tennessee coach Josh Heupel pushed Heard too hard to play last week, but what coach wouldn’t want a player to buck up and take the field despite the pain? However, with a full season and a career on the line, Heard – or his agent – made a wise choice to not play and that’s not just in retrospect. 

Yes, the Vols beat Oklahoma without Heard, so all is good, but Tennessee could have lost to the Sooners and still made the College Football Playoff. The Alabama and Georgia games are far more important to Tennessee’s success this season than its trip to Oklahoma last week. Heard had better be ready for those if the Vols hope to topple those rivals and be a true national championship contender.

Heard is also a big man. At 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds, ankles don’t heal as quickly as they do with other athletes. There’s a strong likelihood that Heard’s ankle could be an issue for the remainder of the season. That’s even more reason that some representation is in order.