CEDAR FALLS - On the practice field, Jovan Dewitt gives directions.

Away from football, Northern Iowa's new linebackers coach seeks them.

Dewitt, who joined Mark Farley's staff last spring, is still learning the Cedar Valley. So the Milwaukee native has been getting some help from his more experienced co-workers.

"I'm the new guy, so I don't know exactly where everything is going or where a couple things are on campus," said Dewitt, a 33-year-old. "I'm always asking the questions like, 'now where is that cafeteria?"'

Dewitt grinned and added, "I tend to find that one quickly."

Dewitt, who essentially replaced Scott Frost as a UNI assistant, is still finding his way through the Panther defensive system. That process takes time, but the veterans on the staff believe the new linebacker coach is setting a good pace.

"He'd be the first to tell you he's still learning," said defensive coordinator Chris Klieman. "But he's extremely smart. He'll help us a bunch."

Said Farley, a linebacker during his playing career at UNI, "He's very knowledgeable, and I can just see how he coordinated his defense. The things he did fit right in with what we do, but I think he represents exactly what UNI represents. Hard work pays off, if you have the perseverance and if you stay with it."

Dewitt has stayed with football a long time, leading what he calls "the nomadic lifestyle."

Actually, that lifestyle gave him an early sample of UNI's talent. Following his career as a linebacker (1993-1996) at Northern Michigan, Dewitt joined the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League for a brief stay.

One of his teammates was quarterback Kurt Warner.

"He was the big man on campus and all that, and I was just a rookie," said Dewitt. "It was a real brief encounter with him. He seemed like a great guy. I enjoyed the chance to meet him."

When Dewitt became a coach, he did a lot of meeting and greeting. Starting as a graduate assistant at Northern Michigan in 2000, he bounced to Fort Scott Community College, then Fairmont State. Dewitt returned to his alma mater as defensive coordinator in 2004, then took the same job at St. Norbert (Wis.) three years ago.

While there, Dewitt heard about the UNI opening. He called some friends and did some homework. He chatted with Farley at a convention.

Then, he decided to take his case directly to the UNI-Dome. Hopping in his car at 4 a.m., Dewitt left Green Bay and drove five hours to meet Farley.

"I just told him I wanted to visit with him about the job," said Dewitt.

Farley put his prospective assistant through the paces.

"When I put him on the board, he did an exceptional job," said Farley.

"A couple things made him an interesting candidate. Number one, he has a great knowledge of the game. He was a defensive coordinator at Northern Michigan and ran the whole defense at St. Norbert. That leads me to his second dimension - he'd had to do it all and do it the hard way."

Eventually, Dewitt got the post at UNI and began giving directions as well as getting them.

He learned about the personnel at linebacker, a crew that includes veteran Josh Mahoney. An academic all-American with a perfect, 4.0 grade point average, Mahoney knows the defense.

"He's one of the smartest players - definitely on our team, if not the country," said Dewitt. "He knows the ins and outs better than we do. He makes my job that much easier."

And the players are finding out how Dewitt does his job.

"He brings intensity and he knows his stuff," said Jamar Thompson, who worked with Dewitt last spring before moving to safety in fall camp.

"He loves the game of football and he loves to be around the guys who play it, too."