USC tailback Marc Tyler, suspended for the Sept. 3 opener against Minnesota, made his first practice appearance Wednesday and worked nearly exclusively with the scout team.
"He's done what we've asked him to do to be able to come back and practice," said Athletic Director Pat Haden, who attended the early part of practice. "He's not playing. He's on the scout team. He still has a lot more hurdles to overcome."
Tyler, USC's leading rusher last season, was suspended during the summer after a series of off-the-field incidents. His return to practice coincides with his return to team meetings as well.
"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. This is just something that we had in place as he goes through this process."
USC will go into the Minnesota game with junior Curtis McNeal, sophomore Dillon Baxter, redshirt freshman D.J. Morgan and freshman Amir Carlisle.
There remains no concrete time frame for Tyler being allowed to play in games.
"We'll just mix him in there some in practice, especially with the service team so he'll get beat up down there going against our No. 1 defense," Kiffin said.
More later at latimes.com/sports.
-- Gary Klein
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