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ASU football hires Keith Patterson as co-defensive coordinator, LB coach


The ASU football team announced the hiring of new assistant coach Keith Patterson, the team announced Friday.

Patterson comes to ASU after serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at West Virginia for the past two seasons. He will serve as defensive coordinator, linebackers and defensive special teams coach for the Sun Devils.

ASUDevils.com first reported Patterson’s hiring Thursday.

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Patterson is a longtime colleague and friend of coach Todd Graham. The two were college roommates at East Central University. Patterson served on Graham’s coaching staffs at Allen (Texas) High School from 1995-96, at Tulsa from 2003-05 and at Pittsburgh in 2011. Patterson was Pittsburgh’s interim head coach for the BBVA Compass Bowl after Graham left for ASU.

Patterson replaces former cornerbacks and special teams coach Joe Lorig, who accepted an offer at Utah State on Thursday. A reason wasn’t given for Lorig’s departure, but Graham had been unpleased with special teams play all season and noted it would be “dealt with immediately” after the Holiday Bowl last December. Lorig left one day after National Signing Day.

Graham has reassigned his other assistants’ duties to accommodate Patterson onto the staff. Tight ends coach Chip Long will now be the offensive special teams coach. Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Paul Randolph is now the senior associate head coach and the defensive ends coach. According to the team, Graham will assist in coaching special teams and cornerbacks.

Patterson will face the challenge of coaching an inexperienced group of linebackers that returns just one starter in redshirt sophomore Salamo Fiso. Freshman D.J. Calhoun, sophomores Alani and Viliami Latu, sophomore Chans Cox and freshman Jamal Scott headline the list of available linebackers.

 

Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion


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