A new football life begins: Why Penn State's Chaz Powell came 'back home' to coach

York Daily Record

Chaz Powell believes he is finding himself in football, once again.

It's been more than a decade since the Susquehannock star left Penn State as one of the most versatile players ever to play for Joe Paterno − and yet one who never was able to concentrate on one position and one role for very long.

He fought to stay in NFL camps and on practice squads for a few years after that.

And then he was done with it all − until now.

Powell is delving into coaching after a decade working in home building, as a plumber, roofer and supervisor. He's a new member of Russ Stoner's staff at York High. For now, he's in charge of the program's speed training and helps oversee offseason workouts. He also will coach defensive backs.

He talks of turning a new page in his life.

He left football in 2014 after stints with the Oakland Raiders, Green Bay Packers and New York Giants. Though close, he never got into an NFL game. He left football without doing what he truly wanted to accomplish, and it took time to learn from that experience and pack it away.

Back then, he was “itching" to try coaching, "but I don’t think I was able to give back to the kids because I was still a little pissed off I was done with the league. It will ruin you. It’s a mental thing.

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"I put in the work, put in the time, but (the NFL) wasn’t my calling. God has another plan for me. … My hope and my future right now is, 'Hey, give back to these kids. Make sure they understand you only get one shot at this. Leave it all on the field and go attack it."

Powell was a volunteer assistant with the Red Land football program last year. He recently began a hall monitoring/security job in the York City School District and a paid position on the York High team. He lives in the city.

Chaz Powell celebrates after winning at Ohio State in November of 2011. One of Penn State's most versatile players ever, he hopes to pass on lessons learned now as an assistant coach at York High.

He knows that, at 35 now, most high school kids won't know his playing career. How he starred in four sports at Susquehannock (football, basketball, lacrosse, track and field) before heading to Penn State. There, he was a rare starter on offense, then defense. He came to Penn State as a running back, moved to receiver, then changed to defense, where he played safety and cornerback. He also was a dynamic kickoff returner.

“I want to be able give back, I can relate to these guys now," Powell said of high school athletes. "Hey, I did it. You guys can do the same thing. You just got to put the work in.'"

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Much of his offseason coaching time is being spent at Stoner's facility on the north side of Route 30 that houses Accountability for Life (AFL for short) − a training and life-skills program for York High's players and athletes from all over York and Adams counties.

Chaz Powell elevated himself from stardom at Susquehannock into a national football recruit, eventually playing for Penn State. He said he's dedicated now to helping high school athletes realize their own potential -- to take advantage of training opportunities he didn't have -- while playing for York High.

Powell's enthusiasm flows from one kid to the next, one training group to another. He seems bought in to this new chapter of his football life that's been building for a while.

He wants to learn as much as possible, give college coaching a try some day.

Stoner said he's "a natural" working with the high school athletes − most who he never knew before; most who are too young to know what he did on a football field.

York High football assistant coach Chaz Powell (left) talks with head coach Russ Stoner as they look over a workout session at Accountability for Life's training facility on Feb. 23, 2023, in Manchester Township.

"I told him, look, you don’t have to lead with, 'Hi, I’m Chaz Powell, I played at Penn State.' That part of your life is over. I want to help you learn how to be, 'I’m Chaz Powell, and I’m a coach.'

“You’re going to affect more people in your life being a coach than you’re ever going to affect being a player."

Coaching, Powell feels, will work well with the other parts of his life. He's helping raise his 10-year-old daughter, a beginner gymnast and cheerleader. He's also working toward accomplishing a long-awaited goal, similar to his new players: He wants to finally build his own house, from the ground-up, after helping so many others navigate the process.

Chaz Powell talks with York High's Precious Jinyemiema (front) as the junior works on his dumbbell bench presses at AFL's training and life-skills facility on Feb. 23, 2023, in Manchester Township.

These new players he's meeting, "they're gonna want to know: 'What did you do in life?' Well, I built houses for 10 years and now I’m your coach.' I want to help them take this to the next level. Let’s go win York County, let’s go win a district championship. You can win a state championship.

"This is what I do now. It's giving back, it’s all about the kids. I don’t want no praise, don’t want no glory. I want to see these kids strive and be the best they can be."

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on Twitter @YDRPennState.