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USC TE Bryce Dixon held out of spring practice due to 'student-conduct issue'

Bryce Dixon #13 of the USC Trojans is tackled by Tyler Price #49 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Bryce Dixon #13 of the USC Trojans is tackled by Tyler Price #49 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The status of USC’s projected starter at tight end is reportedly up in the air.

A report emerged from the Los Angeles Daily News on Tuesday night saying that sophomore Bryce Dixon had been dismissed from the team due to a “student-conduct issue” stemming from an incident that "involved a USC female student." However, while acknowledging that Dixon missed the first day of spring practice due to a conduct issue, Trojans’ head coach Steve Sarkisian declined to expand on Dixon’s status.

“Sarkisian declined to say more about it, citing privacy laws and instruction from the university’s general counsel,” wrote Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.

On top of that, the Orange County Register’s Michael Lev described the situation as “fluid.”

A source close to the situation told me not to draw any conclusions just yet, that it’s a fluid situation and that Dixon has to go through a process. (The latter sounded an awful lot like the Josh Shaw deal from last year.) That same source could not estimate how long Dixon would be away from the team.

Dixon, who caught 14 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014, was suspended for the Cal game last season for disciplinary reasons but returned the following week.

Dixon’s name remains on the roster, and the team’s official blog acknowledged that he missed day one of practice with a "conduct issue."

The Trojans’ only other scholarship tight end on the roster for spring practice, Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, was academically ineligible and missed the entire 2014 season. In addition to Cope-Fitzpatrick, who has just three career catches for 16 yards, walk-on Connor Spears is also available in spring ball.

Four-star freshman Tyler Petite and preferred walk-on Caleb Wilson are also set to join the program in the fall.

For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!