DETROIT — Shortly after being drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round (58th pick overall) Ikaika Alama-Francis received a dose of reality.

The former University of Hawai'i defensive end got a reminder from his father, Joe Francis, who once backed up quarterback Bart Starr for coach Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.

"He said, 'The work starts now,' " Alama-Francis said.

And he was right.

A chest injury has kept Alama-Francis out of team drills during the Lions' three-day rookie mini-camp, which ended yesterday. But Alama-Francis has been working under the watchful eye of head coach Rod Marinelli during individual drills.

Marinelli was a defensive line coach his entire career before he became a head coach last year. He tutored the likes of Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp in Tampa Bay. And in Alama-Francis, he has raw clay to mold.

Alama-Francis did not play football in high school. He walked on to the basketball team at UH, then the football team.

Now he's a 6-foot-5, 280-pound athlete who "bounces around on his feet like he's 230 pounds," according to defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

Marinelli raves about everything from the quickness of his hands, to his tip-top conditioning, to how big his eyes get. He sees him as a young Cory Redding — a guy with the ability to play either end or tackle.

While the defensive linemen have gone through their drills, Marinelli often has pulled aside Alama-Francis for one-on-one work.

Sometimes it looks like martial arts training. Marinelli turns into Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid," the old master waving his hands, challenging the young pupil to react, teaching technique. Wax on, wax off.

Sometimes it looks like a mini-scrimmage. During the second session Saturday, Marinelli set up a couple of aides as offensive linemen and called over chief operating officer Tom Lewand to mimic a running back. Then he started instructing Alama-Francis on the intricacies of the Tampa Two run defense.

"I never would have imagined that," Alama-Francis said. "Coming into here, I heard so much about him, how he's such a great D-line coach. I just try to soak it all in. I'm so inexperienced. His knowledge is just unbelievable."

Alama-Francis can't seem to wipe the grin of his face. He marveled at the Lions' indoor practice facility — and cracked a little joke with a group of sun-starved Detroit reporters.

"We don't have this kind of stuff in Hawai'i," Alama-Francis said. "In Hawai'i, it's all outdoors because it's 85 degrees every day. It's a miserable 85, of course."

At the end of one of his sessions with Marinelli, Alama-Francis let out a loud, exaggerated "Whew!" and took a long drink of water.

"I'm having fun with it," Alama-Francis said. "I just smile and enjoy it. This is the experience of a lifetime. So I'm just going to go with it, give it everything I've got and hopefully play a few downs for the Detroit Lions."