Israel Otis must have known something. Perhaps he knew his great-great-grandson DeAndre Dewayne Lewis was destined to achieve something big in life.

Either that, or Otis had a knack for calling it as he saw it.

Otis used to call young D.D. a "starter," because Lewis was always instigating things that would get him and his brothers in trouble. Maybe it was that wry grin that gave it away, the one Lewis still displays today in the Seahawks' locker room.

If only Otis, who lived to be 104, could see the kind of starter Lewis has become.

The native of Houston will be an opening-day starter at outside linebacker, culminating the 26-year-old's quality upbringing, faith, talent and hard work.

"It was a blast," Lewis said of growing up. "My parents did a great job."

Father Gary ran the house with military precision, and he and wife Sandra stressed the importance of family values and faith to their four sons. And though D.D. was the baby of the bunch who always seemed to get away with mischief, those same core values remain with him.

Lewis is having the time of his life. He and wife Nicole, whom he married while he was in college at Texas, are expecting their third child, a daughter. With brother Chris' help, he's trying to start his own family foundation. He made the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2002, bucking the odds. He's back from a shoulder surgery that forced him to miss last year, and in two days, he'll complete his NFL journey to starter.

"I really feel like being a starter is like taking it to another level," he said. "Now, people are really relying on you. Not that they weren't before, but being out there with the starting defense, you have to make a name."

Lewis first did that at Houston's Aldine High School, where he was a two-way player. He was also popular in the school's hallways, especially after some girls got hold of a videotape of D.D. and Chris singing and dancing to some R&B hits.

"The tape was good," said Chris, who is two years older than D.D. and works for the Houston Texans. "He's always been silly. That's the whole family's way."

Then it was on to Texas, where Lewis switched from running back to linebacker because of the presence of another future pro, Ricky Williams. Lewis started all 51 games of his Longhorns career and was named the team's top linebacker three straight seasons.

Next came the pros. The family was nervous after Lewis went undrafted, but believed the hometown Texans would sign him. The Seahawks called first.

Lewis shined in training camp in 2002 and made the team. The basis for his hard work came from life at home.

Life on Dollywright Street in Houston, where several relatives still live, wasn't always about church and school. Lewis learned football from his older brothers, and was also a good left-handed pitcher in Little League.

Gary Lewis made Demmis Johnson, LaMont, Chris and D.D. do pushups for grades below a B. Gary was a pastor — he's still involved in ministry in Kuwait — and church was a foregone conclusion every Sunday.

Lewis followed in the footsteps of other family members and took up ministry. He sees it as his duty to spread the word of God.

"He looks at the big picture of everything," LaMont said, "and he always keeps God first."

And Lewis is also big on family. Chris is such an inspiration to him that D.D. makes sure to stand on the 31-yard line after taking the field and say a prayer. The number 31 belonged to Chris at Aldine.

"I've never told anybody that, and I'm sure not telling him," Lewis said, punctuating his words with laughter.

Lewis has started games before — five in 2003 when the Seahawks' linebacker corps was beset with injuries. But this time is different.

"He's played in big games in college and in the pros a couple of times," said Jamie Sharper, who will start with Lewis as outside linebackers. "He got in and made some plays and got a little more comfortable with things."

The Seahawks thought highly enough of Lewis to list him No. 1 on the depth chart, and restore him to that spot after a concussion forced him to miss more than three weeks of training camp.

"He's one of the guys on defense that we think can do just fine, but he hasn't played very much," coach Mike Holmgren said. "We saw enough prior to his injuries and we know him well enough off the field and how he has worked to come off the injuries. There's no reason to think he's not going to play well. Now, he's got to stay healthy and play."

Great-great-grandpa would think the same.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com