You may not have heard of his name before, but Smith is the 17-year-old defensive back from Boise who is suing the University of Hawaii for allegedly revoking his scholarship offer after June Jones resigned at UH to take over at SMU.
The suit also names former UH defensive line coach coach Jeff Reinebold, who moved to SMU with Jones.
Smith says Reinebold instructed him not to speak to any other school when he offered the full scholarship last April, an offer that Smith says was reaffirmed over the next several months.
Smith said he gave up a scholarship from Portland State and declined offers to visit other schools before Reinebold told him in January that all scholarship commitments prior to Jones' resignation had been revoked.
According to Smith's lawsuit, the university has denied that Smith received a scholarship commitment. Hawai'i assistant coach Ron Lee, who is taking over as offensive coordinator, told Smith's mother that Reinebold did not have the authority to make scholarship commitments, according to the suit.
Smith said Lee has offered him the chance to try out for the team, but he wants his scholarship.
"I kept my end of the deal," Smith told the Honolulu Advertiser,. "I want the university to keep its end of the deal."
The problem for Smith, however, that in the less-than-wonderful world of college recruiting, there is no formal deal -- for either side of the process -- until a national letter of intent is offered and signed.
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