"He still has to be consistent through the spring and summer," Stoops said, "but the things he's done here since have been positive."

Harris out: Senior-to-be Nic Harris, last year's starting free safety, will miss all of the spring because of minor offseason shoulder surgery.

"He won't be in there, but Nic has played a lot of football and he'll be back and fine once the summer comes," Stoops said.

Reed's story: Stoops offi cially said on Tuesday that Mike Reed, a five-star junior college linebacker last season, is no longer on the team.

"I'm never specific on things that aren't positive," Stoops said. "In the end, there are too many team-related and academic-related activities that are not being met. So therefore, he is not going to be with us during the spring and he will seek other opportunities at the end of the semester."

Holmes back: Stoops said Lendy Holmes, one of three defensive starters unable to participate in the Fiesta Bowl because of academic shortcomings, is practicing with the team. He has started the spring at free safety as Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson get as much work as they can at cornerback. But Holmes, Stoops said, can always switch to corner if he's needed.

"He can do either," Stoops said. "That'll depend on who we get the best play from from the other guys. I think Lendy has the unusual ability really to be solid at corner or at safety."

Linebacker story: The first two spring practices had junior-to-be Ryan Reynolds replacing Curtis Lofton at middle linebacker. Taking Reynolds' place on the weak side is redshirt freshman Austin Box, and stepping in for departed senior Lewis Baker is converted safety Keenan Clayton. Their backups are Brandon Crow in the middle, Travis Lewis at weakside and Lamont Robinson at strongside.

New fan: The newest Sooner fan is Hannah Cindyann Heupel, born Feb. 27 to Josh and Dawn Heupel.

"It really is going pretty good," Josh Heupel said. "She was a little girl, came out 5 pounds 12 ounces. But she's doing good. She just had her first doctor's appointment and she's over 6 pounds already."

Missing Malcolm: After his big performance in the Fiesta Bowl, Quentin Chaney gets first dibs on replacing Malcolm Kelly. Adron Tennell will get a shot this spring, too. In the fall, newcomers will be in the mix.

"It was different not having (Kelly) out there and not having that big target," quarterback Sam Bradford said. "But we've still got a lot of talented wide receivers out there. With Quentin out there and Manny (Manuel Johnson) and Wick (Juaquin Iglesias) out there, it was still pretty normal.

"It's definitely important to have someone come out in the spring and step up and show that they can make plays, try to make the plays that Malcolm made for us. But its a long process."