That warbled version of "Reunited" peeling the freshly painted office walls was Nick Rolovich's way of welcoming former roommate Brian Smith to the Hawai'i football coaching staff. "I will neither confirm nor deny that he sang that," said Smith, who was named UH's offensive line coach, a day after Rolovich was announced as the quarterback coach.

In UH's 8-1 stretch run in 2001, Rolovich was the quarterback and Smith the center. They used to practice long snaps in their apartment hallway.

"Never broke anything," Smith said, smiling.

Now it is knowledge and blocking fundamentals that Smith will pass to the linemen.

Smith said: "One of the good things about being a quarterback's roommate is I'd get to ask a lot of questions. 'What's going on with this play?' 'What are you looking at?' "

Mike Cavanaugh, UH's line coach in 2001, made sure his centers knew the pass routes in the four-wide offense and could identify defensive coverages. "It made it easier to learn the calls," Smith said.

Smith kept the playbooks from his five UH years. He added to it when he tried out with the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers, when he was a UH graduate assistant (2003), and during coaching stops at Cal Lutheran, Oregon State and, last season, Portland State. He worked under Cavanaugh at OSU and under Mouse Davis, the inventor of the run-and-shoot offense, at Portland State.

"He's very knowledgeable of the system from the O-line to the receivers," Rolovich said. "He knows everything about the offense. He'll be able to do more than a lot of people who know the offense but not the pass protection. He'll be valuable to the program."

Smith, 27, said he can relate to players while still maintaining their respect.

"When you're a young coach, you have to be able to separate yourself from the players," he said. "You can't be their buddy. Some young coaches get into trouble because they think of themselves as still being players. I'm definitely not a player anymore."

Smtih said he will stress fundamentals and techniques. He wants his linemen to learn all facets of the offense.

"We want to have communication," Smith said. "If everyone's on the same page, there's understanding of the scheme ... and you have a better chance to succeed."

Smith and Rolovich, who is engaged and has a 5-month-old son, will be roommates for at least another week. "The way I snore, he might be on his way again," Smith said, laughing.

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.