Here’s the truth about the dare.

At the urging of friends and Cal State Stanislaus basketball teammates, Travion Williams agreed to attend the Sacramento State-hosted Rising Stars football camp last June.

There was a snag. Williams, a five-position basketball player, had never played organized football. On the eve of the camp, Williams bought cleats just before the store’s closing at 10 p.m. An hour later, Williams practiced running routes and catching passes from his friend Benno Zecic.

“We ended up being late,” Williams recalled. “I didn’t know where to go. One of the guys was like, ‘Just go to the tight-end group, so I went with the tight ends. I was in a wide-receiver stance, and they told me to go into a 3-point stance. I didn’t know what I was doing. But they did like me.”

The dozens of college coaches in attendance were impressed with Williams’ frame (6 feet 5, 230 pounds), athletic ability (37-inch vertical jump), footwork and determination. In basketball, Williams was 13th among Division II players in offensive rebounding, proving his post-up ability against defenders. He also mastered basketball’s screen-and-roll, useful for a tight end’s block-and-peel move.

After the camp, four University of Hawaii football coaches approached Williams. He received — and accepted — a scholarship offer from the Rainbow Warriors.

“I was blessed,” Williams said. “I never played football (before the camp).

Williams redshirted last season but was included on the Warriors’ travel roster for five of six road games. “Going on the trips made everything slow down for me,” Williams said of adjusting to Division I football.

Williams will have a role in the Warriors’ expanding run-and-shoot offense. The traditional run-and-shoot employs “10” personnel (a running back and no tight end). “But we want to make some ‘11’ personnel in there and create some mismatches with a tight end (against) safeties and linebackers,” said Thomas Sheffield, who coaches the UH tight ends.

At their previous coaching jobs at Nevada, UH head coach Timmy Chang and Sheffield used a tight end as one of the four receivers.

“We had a lot of success doing that at Nevada in the Air Raid system with an 11-personnel tight end.” Sheffield said. “We look forward to doing the same thing but in the run-and-shoot.”

In the first three practices of spring training, Devon Tauaefa and Williams received most of the reps when the Warriors replaced a slotback with a tight end. Tauaefa and Williams can align in the slot, wide, flexed in the backfield or attached to the offensive line.

“He’s coming along,” Sheffield said of Williams. “For someone who hasn’t played a lot of football, he’s picking it up fast. He’s doing a good job of putting in the extra work. It’s going to be a process, but if we get him to where we want to get him, he’s going to be tough to defend.”

Williams said he watches the slotbacks and other tight ends running their routes. “Asking questions is probably the biggest help,” Williams said. “Learning plays on paper is one thing. But when you get on the field, there are all these different coverages. It’s basically reading coverages and studying. I have a good environment of positivity around me. I have a really positive coach. Even when I mess up, (Sheffield) helps me focus on the next play.”

Williams said he also has support from the members of the “Wide Receiver House” on Seaview Avenue in Manoa. Slotback Pofele Ashlock and wideouts Alex Perry and Steve McBride invited Williams to live with them.

“It’s a family vibe,” said Williams, whose housemates share tips on routes while also recommending local cuisine. “I love that laulau. I love poke. And musubi? Fire. I’ve got to roll with that.”