This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kyle Whittingham and Lewis Powell share a favorite memory of the latter's playing career, but they tell it a little differently.
Whittingham calls it "the miracle in the north end zone." BYU had second and goal from Utah's 1, up 6-0, with roughly a minute until halftime. Cougar quarterback Lance Pendleton tried a sneak to the left, and Utah "somehow, some way managed to strip the ball," Whittingham said.
Powell's recovery of Pendleton's fumble would mark a turning point in state football history. Utah rallied to win the 2002 rivalry game — Ron McBride's last game as U. head coach — 13-6. BYU suffered its first losing season in 29 years. The Utes won eight of the next 11 in the series.
But in the immediate aftermath, while those in red rejoiced and those in blue blasted the call — Pendleton broke the plane, they cried — Powell remembers that Whittingham grabbed hold of him.
He had tossed the ball away after the whistle. You don't do that, Whittingham said. You hand the ball to the referee.
Only then did he allow, "That was a heck of a job."
The boss hasn't changed, said Powell, Utah's new tight ends coach after three seasons as defensive line coach at Hawaii.
"If someone's not doing the right thing, he's making sure that you know what you did wrong," Powell said.
That's one of many things about Utah that's familiar to Powell, even as he lives in a hotel while house-shopping. He played for the Utes (2001-03) and for the Utah Blaze (2006-08), and coached at the U. as a graduate assistant and administrative assistant (2009-11). His wife, Levalasi, is the sister of former Utah wideout Aiona Key. And he's still close to McBride.
What's more, Utah football is built on the same tenets as it was when Powell played, he said: "Win, lose or draw, the other team still feels beat up."
It was a dream to come back, he said.
Powell was attending the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans with former Ute and then-Steeler Chris Kemoeatu when Whittingham informed him that graduate assistant Ilaisa Tuiaki was following Gary Andersen to Utah State, and that Utah had an opening.
Whittingham told Powell to give him a call if he was interested. When Powell did, Whittingham explained that he'd have to work long hours for low pay, "but if it's something you want to do, we have a staff meeting" in a couple of days.
Powell spent the next three years as a jack of all trades at the U., gaining an appreciation for the lesser-seen components of the team — operations, personnel, equipment and training staff — and pinch-hitting on the recruiting trail when assistants left the program.
He made enough of an impression that when offensive coordinator Norm Chow left to become Hawaii's head coach, he asked Powell to come with him.
Powell said Whittingham told him, "Lewis, you know I don't want to lose you, but I know that you'll do a good job and that we'll bring you back sometime."
He was true to his word.
Powell again replaces Tuiaki — albeit at a different position — in making the move again from the Mountain West to the Pac-12, where he'll earn a $175,000 salary.
At least, he'll earn it if he lives up to his billing as a lockdown recruiter, which is needed after the loss of Tuiaki and defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake.
"That's the No. 1 requisite for just about every hire you make," said Whittingham, who had Powell's praises as a program salesman sung to him by Chow.
Powell's assigned recruiting territory is as vast as any coach and includes the San Francisco Bay Area, Hawaii, American Samoa and Southern California — or alternately, if you prefer, the Pacific.
He's never coached tight ends, beyond working with the scout team during his previous stint at the U., but he played some in high school and planned to speak with McBride and Weber State head coach Jay Hill, who coached tight ends at Utah.
And seeing the other side of the ball is making him a more well-rounded coach, he said.
Whittingham is none too worried.
"If you're a football coach, you're a football coach," he said. "If you know the game, you'll be able to plug into more than one spot."
Either way he's plugged in, again, at Utah.
Twitter: @matthew_piper