KNOXVILLE — The punishment for Jalen Hurd after the Tennessee freshman running back was cited earlier this month by university police for underage drinking has been handled internally, Butch Jones said after Thursday's practice.
Tennessee's coach also said Hurd will play when the Volunteers face Iowa in the Taxslayer Bowl on Jan. 2.
"We've handled that internally and will continue to handle that," Jones said. "That's been about a few weeks old. It's just like raising your children: It's all about decisions and the one-second rule. We'll continue to educate and talk to them, and it's all about choices. They understand. We have good characters kids in this program.
"It's like raising my three boys. I know at some point in time they're going to make maybe a poor choice, and it's all about how you handle. It's being firm, it's being fair in your punishment and it's being stern and it's being disciplined. Our character of our football team and our kids is outstanding."
Hurd and another student were cited four days after Tennessee's regular season ended with a win at Vanderbilt, when police came across a running car with its lights on in a university parking garage, according to report from the Tennessean.
Hurd faces a January court date for the incident.
Jones, whose father was a chief of police, said he takes underage alcohol consumption, which is commonplace on college campuses across the country, very seriously.
"It's a very big deal to us," he said. "Maybe I look at things a little bit differently because I grew up in a law-enforcement house. I've seen it all. I've seen just about anything and everything that you could see.
"Shoot, I used to sneak out at midnight and ride around in a police car with my dad's police officers. If my dad knew about that, I'd probably have been in trouble, and they'd be in trouble, but I think that's really helped me.
"We take great pride in that. We spend an inordinate amount of time with our personal growth and development here, and we talk about those issues. Being here for bowl practice has actually accelerated that program. We spent about 15 minutes today talking about that. That's something that we talk about every day. We talk about every societal issue. We talk about it."
Making the grade
The Vols finished the fall semester with a team grade-point average of 2.75, the highest for a single semester since the program began recording such data in 2003, and 46 players finished a GPA of 3.0 or above.
In fall of 2011, Tennessee recorded a 2.08 GPA.
"It's a direct correlation of how you are on and off the field," said senior defensive tackle Jordan Williams, one of 21 players who graduated earlier this month. "How you act in the classroom is how you're going to act on the field. Skipping class, skipping reps -- it goes hand in hand."
The Vols have seen a revival in their Academic Progress Rate scores under Jones as well, posting single-year scores of 972 and 1000 to help the program avoid possible penalties.
Jones credited his players and the staff of the Thornton Center, which was restructured and taken over by Joe Scogin, a couple of years ago/
"We talk about winning in the classroom, they won in the classroom," he said. "I think that merits a lot of conversation."
Receiver roundup
Quarterback Josh Dobbs will be throwing to a depleted group of wide receivers, which lost Jason Croom to a knee injury earlier this week, when the Vols play Iowa in two weeks, but he's confident in them.
"Croom's a big-bodied guy," Dobbs said. "We use him a lot over the field, so his ability to go out and get the ball in the air over anyone was really beneficial, but that just means someone else has to step up. People will step up, and they'll make plays when called upon."
Dobbs said all of Tennessee's healthy receivers have been practicing well this week.
"Vic Wharton, he's made a couple of really nice plays in practice," he said. "Ryan Jenkins is stepping up. Pig (Howard) on the outside, and Von (Pearson), they keep doing what they're doing. Johnathon Johnson is doing well, and Josh Malone continues to pick up where he left off and continues to improve every day.
"All the receivers are coming together. They're picking up their play, because they know it's needed for the team. They're going to definitely make an impact for the game."
Status updates
Tennessee appears to be playing it safe with linebacker/defensive end Curt Maggitt, as the junior did not participate in any of the 11-on-11 work during the open-viewing part of Thursday's practice.
Freshman defensive tackle Michael Sawyers was back at practice after being absent for earlier bowl prep.
"Michael's been back, but we've moved him around a little bit, just because of scout teams, from the offensive line and defensive lines," Jones said. "We'll continue to evaluate him. He knows what he has to do, but it's been good to have him back."
Running back Justus Pickett will not return to the team.
"Justus was a walk-on for us, and some academic things have occurred," Jones said. "When you're paying for school, you have to make some decisions. He will not accompany us (to the bowl) -- and he couldn't anyway because of some transfer rules -- but he's no longer part of the football team."