Jared Smart practicing as the top left wideout for UH

For football prospects on Hawaii recruiting trips, a few of their favorite things are the food, beaches and more food.

For wideout Jared Smart, it was visiting the Hawaii football team’s meeting room to watch videos of the Rainbow Warriors’ plays and strategies.

“I wanted to learn more about that,” Smart recalled of last December’s trip. “I was going to spend more time (at UH) than in Waikiki. I wanted to worry about the bigger things.”

Smart signed with the Warriors in December, enrolled at UH in January, and since then spent hours watching football videos and training with teammates. After impressing in the spring and summer, Smart has practiced as the No. 1 left wideout this training camp.

“From Day 1, he knew what he wanted to do out here,” quarterback Cole McDonald said. “I respect that. A lot of guys come out here with a lot of misconceptions of what Hawaii is. He came out here ready to work. He’s willing to put in the work and get better every day and help the team.”

Receivers coach Andre Allen marveled at Smart’s attention to details.

“Ever since he got here, he’s bought into everything we’ve talked about in this offense,” Allen said. “His growth from the first day until now has been huge. Jared’s a football guy. He loves everything about the game of football — from the workouts to the field work to, most important, the film room. He understands seeing things in the film room translates to the field.”

Keith Smart said his son, at a young age, embraced the motto of how a person practices is how he will play. Even for private workouts, the elder Smart recalled, “he would put on his whole uniform to train in. He would put the gear on to know how it would feel. He cared about how hard he practiced.”

To his family’s surprise a few years ago, Jared Smart brought home two buckets filled with uncooked rice. One was kept in his room, the other in the garage. Smart would squeeze a fistful of rice, then power his hands to the bottom of the bucket. He said the bucket drill strengthened his forearms and grip — key elements in receiving.

“Watch him when he catches the ball,” said Allen, demonstrating the technique of thumbs and index fingers touching to create a diamond-shaped target. “When you see him catch the ball, everything is in front of him. He has strong hands from the point of contact. That ball is secure. He brings it in quick and tucks it away. You never see (the ball) stripped from him. Those 50-50 balls? He wins a majority of those situations.”

Smart said he learned hard work from his parents. “They taught me a lot.”

Keith Smart, now an assistant with the New York Knicks, is widely remembered for hitting the game-winning shot for Indiana against Syracuse in the title game of the 1987 NCAA basketball tournament. He said he allowed his two sons to choose their path. Jared Smart played several sports before focusing on football.

Keith and Carol Smart today are completing a week-long vacation in Hawaii. They attended the first four practices of UH’s training camp. During Monday’s practice, Keith Smart shared the story of a family vacation in South Carolina a few years ago. As was tradition, father and son had a friendly wrestling match on the beach.

“We were in the water,” Keith Smart recalled. “I said, ‘Jared, let’s see what you can do here.’ He said, ‘Dad, you’re going to get hurt, don’t do this.’ I said, ‘Come on, let’s wrestle.’ And he threw me in the water. I said, ‘Let’s do it again,’ and he threw me in the water again. I said, ‘You know what, that time is over.’ ”

Soon after, the elder Smart recalled, “I told my son, I can out-shoot him. That’s one thing the old man can still do.”