Reed Is Making the Grade

Several key players for USC are being held out of spring practice because of academic issues, but running back and special teams standout Desmond Reed apparently has cleared his hurdles and continued to impress on Thursday.

Reed missed the first three workouts while meeting with professors. He practiced Tuesday but declined to speak to reporters.

On Thursday, he said he appreciated being back on the field.

“I guess you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” he said.

On a day when running back Reggie Bush made several spectacular plays during team drills, Reed showed that the Trojans possess another multipurpose threat.

“Just like we’ve seen during the season -- every time you let him do something he does something good; he’s a playmaker,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

Reed, a redshirt sophomore, is the roommate of cornerback Eric Wright, who was arrested Saturday on suspicion of raping a female USC student.

Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested Wright after they were dispatched to the Cardinal Gardens housing complex near campus to conduct a sexual assault investigation.

Wright is free on bail but has been suspended indefinitely from the team while police and the university investigate the incident.

Reed said police had not contacted him. Carroll said he had not been updated on the police or university investigations.

Reed said he had spoken with Wright and told him to “keep his head up and fight through this.” He declined to comment when asked if he had attended a fraternity row party that Wright and other USC players attended Friday night.

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The Trojans will practice in full pads today in preparation for a scrimmage Sunday.... Redshirt sophomore Chris Barrett, who switched from defensive line to tight end last season, has moved back to the defensive line.... Linebacker Ryan Powdrell and receiver Whitney Lewis returned to practice after missing Tuesday’s workout to focus on academic issues.