Second chance for Smart

The senior, one of 11 holdovers from the coach John Robinson era, was diagnosed with a career-threatening hip problem in 2003, then underwent a dicey surgery to correct the condition.

After playing mostly on special teams the past two seasons, Smart this preseason finally began to resemble the standout cornerback the Rebels recruited out of Phoenix’s Moon Valley High School.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Smart will back up freshman Quinton Pointer at one cornerback spot in Thursday’s opener at Utah State and probably will get plenty of playing time.

“Solomon’s come a long way from where he’s been,” cornerbacks coach Mike Bradeson said.

Smart might not be in a Rebels uniform if he had accepted his first doctor’s opinion. Though he underwent hip surgery while attending high school, Smart said a mostly unrelated problem developed when he got to UNLV late in the summer of 2003.

“We were out there doing the workouts, and my hip kept bothering me,” he said.

Smart soon was told he had avascular necrosis, a circulation problem in the hip and that he wouldn’t play football again.

Smart refused to accept the jolting diagnosis. He researched the topic and went to other doctors in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

“I wanted to play football,” Smart said. “I didn’t want to believe the news.”

Upon further examination early in 2004, Smart was told he could have a football future but needed surgery.

He underwent an operation in July 2004 in which three small holes were drilled into the femur in his hip point.

Smart was on crutches for two weeks and then faced six months of rehabilitation.

Bradeson wasn’t sure Smart would be able to come back. The surgery was risky.

“There was a big chance he could never play football again,” Bradeson said. “It came to a point where he had to go back and see a few more doctors, and they did give him the OK, but it was a touch-and-go situation as far as playing.”

Smart was able to run some in the spring of 2005 but looked more like a weekend warrior than a college athlete.

“When you don’t run for a whole year … you’ve got to learn how to run again,” Bradeson said. “To his credit, he stuck with it.”

By that summer, Smart could run the way he did at Moon Valley, where he was timed at 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

He appeared in all 11 games in 2005, mostly on special teams, his first action since the second game of his senior year of high school in 2002. Another full stint of special teams duties followed in 2006.

Still, this wasn’t the player UNLV expected when Robinson signed Smart. At that time, Smart — who chose the Rebels over Arizona — was considered a possible star.

This spring he started to look like the cornerback Robinson recruited, and Smart carried his impressive play into training camp. Now he should get more chances to defend receivers than cover kickoffs.

“I feel God has blessed me to be able to come back and be where I am now,” Smart said. “I’ve learned patience and perseverance from things I’ve gone through.”

• DEPTH CHART — Freshman Shane Horton beat out senior Tony Cade at one safety spot, but junior Geoffery Howard and senior Mil’Von James are listed as even at one of the cornerback positions. Senior Bradley Niles secured the middle linebacker job over sophomore Jimmy Miller.

David Peeples of Cheyenne High was competing with fellow junior Frank Summers at tailback but now is in a fight with sophomore Chris Brogdon for the backup role. Brogdon has had an impressive preseason, while Peeples missed most of camp with a stress fracture in his left foot.

Left tackle Richie Plunkett of Las Vegas High will start ahead of fellow junior Mario Jeberaeel of Chaparral High.

• COACHES SHOWS — UNLV’s radio and television broadcasts, including the coaches shows, will begin this week.

“Gametime with UNLV Football” will air at 11:30 p.m. on Sundays, and feature head coach Mike Sanford. “Gametime” will premiere Sunday with a special 3:30 p.m. debut before settling into its 11:30 p.m. slot

The first two episodes of Sanford’s radio show will begin Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. on KBAD-AM.