UT's Jalen Hurd (1) stiff arm's Oklahoma's Zack Sanchez (15) to gain yardage during the first half of play Saturday. The Volunteers played the Sooner's at home on September 12, 2015 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee continued its preparations for rival Alabama on Tuesday afternoon without one of its top playmakers.

Running back Jalen Hurd was absent while the Volunteers worked at Haslam Field, and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said after practice the sophomore is dealing with the flu this week.

"Well, I'm not allowed to talk about injuries, and he doesn't have an injury, so I can tell you what he had," DeBord said. "He had the flu, so he's battling that a little bit. He's going to be fine. We think he'll probably be able to go tomorrow. He's just battling the flu bug."

Hurd leads Tennessee with 526 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season, and he's run for at least 100 yards in four of his last seven games.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is a big reason why the Vols are third in the SEC in rushing through seven weeks of the season.

Alvin Kamara -- a former Alabama freshman -- and freshman John Kelly would see more backfield work if Hurd is slowed by the illness on Saturday against the No. 8 Crimson Tide.

Cincinnati transfer Ralph David Abernathy IV is also available now that he's healthy after missing a couple of games with an ankle problem.

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.