SECOND IN A SERIES

Lewis Powell enjoys the convenience of working from home.

Then again, Powell’s home is the third-floor office at the Hawaii athletic complex, where he is an assistant football coach.

Powell has been on a no-pause schedule since late December, when he joined first-year head coach Norm Chow’s staff. As a recruiter, he has visited prospects at both ends of California in the same day.

While the travel schedule became less hectic after the signing period began last month, Powell is immersed in monitoring the Warriors’ academics and offseason conditioning, as well as preparing for the March 20 start of spring training.

"I can’t wait to get into spring, put some pads (on the players), and figure out what we’ve got," said Powell, who will coach the defensive linemen.

He continues to recruit, seeking tall defensive linemen with "fast-twitch" skills.

"That’s something we can’t teach," Powell said. "It’s something you’re born with. You can see it on film immediately, especially if everyone around doesn’t have a fast twitch. You stand out. That’s the kind of kid you want. And you want someone who is lengthy. You want someone who can extend (his arms) and not let the O-linemen get to you."

Powell is used to living on the go. His father’s work required the family to live in Tonga, Honolulu and Northern California.

"When I was younger, I was like, ‘Man, we’re moving again?’ " Powell recalled. "I had to make new friends. It ended up being better for me. I have friends all over the place. I know a lot of people because I grew up in different places."

After his mother died in 1990, when he was 9, Powell often spent time in the home of his father’s cousins. He did not get to know his own cousins, including Chris Kemoeatu, until they were football teammates at the University of Utah. Kemoeatu spent six years with the Pittsburgh Steelers until his release last week.

"We just became good friends," Powell said. "We were all roommates. We stuck together."

Powell, who was a defensive lineman for the Utes, spent the past three years as a graduate assistant and intern for his alma mater. It was there where he met Chow, who was the Utes’ offensive coordinator in 2011.

Powell enthusiastically accepted Chow’s invitation to join the Warriors. He has several relatives in Hawaii. What’s more, his mother’s remains are interred at Diamond Head Memorial Park.

"She was a wonderful lady who came from a big family," said Powell, noting his parents were raised in Tonga and met at Brigham Young-Hawaii. Her death "was hard. It was something you had to overcome."

Powell is easily identifiable because of his thick beard. The truth? It was a dare.

"One of my friends said we can’t shave for three months, and we didn’t," Powell said. "We all grew beards, and kept it."