The tailback participates in practice, the ?next step? in his quest to be fully reinstated. He still will miss the season opener.
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LOS ANGELES ? USC's Marc Tyler is back, just not all the way back.
The senior tailback, suspended through at least the first game of the season because of his off-field behavior, returned to the practice field for the first time Wednesday.
"It's the next step in the process of Marc hopefully coming back," USC coach Lane Kiffin said. "This isn't a major step. He's not cleared for the second game."
Tyler, who led USC in rushing last season, spent most of practice working with the scout team. Kiffin suspended him July 18, three days after Tyler made inappropriate comments to TMZ. That came on the heels of two alcohol-related incidents involving female students this past spring.
When Tyler will be fully reinstated remains to be seen.
"We'll see," Kiffin said. "This is still all up to Marc. This changes nothing regarding his playing status."
Tyler's return adds another variable to an already muddled tailback situation. Four players ? veterans Curtis McNeal, Dillon Baxter and D.J. Morgan, and freshman Amir Carlisle ? remain in contention for the starting assignment in the Sept. 3 opener against Minnesota.
KESSLER NO. 2
With the opener less than two weeks away, Lane Kiffin had to pick someone to be his backup quarterback. He chose freshman Cody Kessler over classmate Max Wittek (Mater Dei High), adding that the coaching staff still has the utmost confidence in both.
"This was not a big competition that Cody won necessarily," Kiffin said. "It's just what we went with."
Kiffin said the no matter how Kessler performs ? "good, bad or indifferent" ? the competition to succeed Matt Barkley whenever he leaves will be "wide open."
Kiffin also said the ideal scenario for 2011 would be to redshirt both freshman quarterbacks, although no decisions have been made on that front.
"There's just all kinds of scenarios that can pop up," Kiffin said. "The best one is to keep the No. 1 guy healthy, hopefully win some games and let (walk-on John) Manoogian hand the ball off at the end."
Kiffin did not mention redshirt freshman Jesse Scroggins, who had been in the No. 2 mix before injuring the thumb on his throwing hand Aug. 8.
NOTES
Freshman defensive end Charles Burks (Edison High) will have knee surgery and is out for the season. ... Middle linebacker Chris Galippo (Servite) took minimal reps as he rests his sore right shoulder. ... Receiver Robert Woods, nursing a swollen elbow, practiced with a no-contact yellow jersey. ... Redshirt junior Abe Markowitz, who had been starting at left guard, missed the latter half of practice because of a foot injury. With junior Jeremy Galten also out, senior Martin Coleman (Edison) shifted to second-team right tackle, and freshman Marcus Martin got a long look with the starters at left guard.
Contact the writer: mlev@ocregister.com
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