Graham adds another defensive assistant

Published Jan. 10, 2012 12:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

Arizona State football coach Todd Graham made his eighth hire Tuesday, adding Central Washington assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Joe Lorig to his staff.

Lorig spent the past four seasons at Central Washington, where the Wildcats went 34-12 with three Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships and two NCAA Division II playoff appearances. Lorig's defense earned him honors in 2010 as the American Football Coaches Association's Division II Assistant Coach of the Year.

At ASU, Lorig could be in line for a co-defensive coordinator position with Paul Randolph, who was hired Monday after serving in that role for Graham at Pittsburgh last season. Graham has not assigned specific duties to his staff yet.

Lorig's defense at Central Washington led Division II in scoring defense in 2009, giving up 11.9 points per game, and regularly ranked in the top 10 nationally for total defense.

Lorig has previous coaching experience at UTEP (2007), Idaho State (1999-2006) and his alma mater Western Oregon (1997-98).

ASUDevils.com reported this week that recently fired Saguaro High School coach John Sanders told multiple people he would accept a position with the ASU football program.