The Arizona State Sun Devil defense is coordinated by Keith Patterson, now in his second season in Tempe. Patterson came to Arizona State from West Virginia where he served in the same position and has a close relationship with Sun Devil head coach Todd Graham, as the two are old college roommates. Make no mistake, Patterson may be the coordinator, but this is Todd Graham's defense. Graham served as defensive coordinator at Tulsa and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at West Virginia before becoming a head coach.
Graham and Patterson run a hybrid 3-4 defense, commonly showing a 3-3-5 look.