Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd faces underage drinking charge

Starting University of Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd was arrested this month for underage drinking, according to university police.

Hurd, 18, and Hunter Rivait, who is listed as a student in a university student directory, were arrested by citation on Dec. 3 after police spotted a car with its lights on in a university dorm parking garage. Police found an unconscious male inside.

The initial University of Tennessee police report does not identify the unconscious male, who was later transported to a hospital.

The case was referred to Knox County officials for prosecution, a University of Tennessee weekly crime log noted.

Rivait was charged with underage consumption of alcoholic beverages, a misdemeanor. His age is unknown. He appeared in a Knox County court on Wednesday to formally be read his charges. Rivait did not enter a plea.

Hurd is scheduled to be booked and arraigned on the same charges on Jan. 20, according to a Knox County database of criminal cases reviewed Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for the football team refused to comment on whether Hurd, a freshman, faces internal discipline over the incident.

The UT police report at the time of the citation noted that the incident involved underage drinking, confiscated items, an alcohol incident and a sick person.

A subsequent initial incident report noted that the case was referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

The report also noted a weapon was involved. University police on Wednesday identified it as an airsoft gun. A full report of the incident will not be released until the case is closed or adjudicated, according to a spokesman for the University of Tennessee Police Department.

Hurd leads the Vols with 777 yards rushing. The Vols will play Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Anita Wadhwani writes for The (Nashville) Tennessean. Reporter Matt Slovin contributed to this report.