Nick Reid spent a lot of time practicing at safety, but the Kansas University sophomore might never play a football game there.

Reid was recruited out of Derby High as a quarterback but was moved to safety during preseason camp last year. The freshman later was moved again to linebacker because of injuries at that position.

Reid moved back to safety during spring drills and was expected to compete for a starting job, but the sophomore was back at linebacker during Thursday’s practice.

“We put Nick at safety last year because in order to have spring practices we needed a quality safety that was ready to play nickel defense,” Mangino said. “But we felt the other day as a staff that Nick Reid best served the defense back at the linebacking spot. That’s where he’s going to be. Unless we have some unforeseen problems in the secondary, he will stay at linebacker.”

KU needed Reid in the secondary during the spring, but the Jayhawks bolstered that unit with the arrival of several newcomers this summer. Junior-college cornerback Rodney Fowler was moved to safety, and another transfer corner — Shelton Simmons — was working at safety Thursday. Jonathan Lamb, a red-shirt freshman from Olathe North, also has been getting a long look at safety.

Reid was listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds last season, but he bulked up to 230 to play linebacker. He was asked to slim down to play safety and is listed at 220.

“We try to put the people that best fit the positions where they belong, and Nick belongs at linebacker,” Mangino said. “He’s a linebacker. He looks like one. We didn’t want him to have to lose weight and not be a physical player. He’s a linebacker. He’s comfortable there, and our defense is better for having him there.”

Reid, KU’s top returning tackler, was working with the first-string linebackers Thursday alongside Gabe Toomey and Banks Floodman.

Kansas University wide receiver Gary Heaggans tries to catch a pass during practice. The Jayhawks worked out Thursday on the KU practice field.

• Still waiting: KU still is awaiting academic certification of an unspecified number of its newcomers.

“We hope to finalize any issues remaining early next week,” Mangino said. “We can’t spend any more time repping young guys if they’re not going to be on the field. We feel pretty good about our situation. The academic staff is very confident, but I can’t guarantee that they’ll all make it.”

• Sooner memories: Former Oklahoma offensive lineman Jay Smith has written a book about his experiences in Norman, including playing for former OU aide Mangino.

“I have to say that playing for Mangino was not easy,” Smith writes in “Prelude to Greatness.” “He was a tough mentor and expected a lot out of his offensive linemen. There was a lot of in-your-face yelling, although he would later smile and say he was simply ‘telling us’ what we were doing wrong. Either way, the important thing is he was exact in his critiques, so we knew exactly what we had to do to improve our performance. Mangino also has a lot of heart and works with his players to get the desired results.”

Smith played for four head coaches and six offensive line coaches in five years at OU. His book documents the firing of coach Gary Gibbs, the decline of the tradition-rich program under coaches Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake and its rapid transformation under Bob Stoops.

Smith says Mangino often ribbed the fifth-year senior.

“One of the things he used to say to me was, ‘You’ve been here since Bud Wilkinson, and you still can’t get it right.'”