Todd Graham wants to leave a legacy at Arizona State

Earlier this week, the University of Texas hired ASU’s Steve Patterson as their new athletic director.

One of Patterson’s first orders of business could be his involvement in hiring a new football coach for the Longhorns. Mack Brown is in his 16th season as Texas’ head coach, and there is much speculation about his job security as the ‘Horns have gone just 28-18 in four seasons following a BCS title game appearance following the 2009 season.

Some believe Patterson would at least have a little interest in bringing ASU head coach Todd Graham to Austin. Graham’s roots are in the Texas high school ranks, and he owns the reputation of being a job-hopper, having coached four schools in the last eight years.

Graham addressed the 800-pound elephant in the room Friday morning with Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 620.

“I’m glad you asked that,” Graham said. “The last thing we need in recruiting — and we’ve got a great recruiting class that we’ve put together — is all that kind of speculation and talk.

“And the reality is, Steve was involved in bringing me here, but (ASU president) Dr. (Michael) Crow is the one who hired me here and the reason I came here and I’m committed to the future of ASU. Obviously, we’ve come a long way and we’ve got a long way to go.”

The speculation existed even before Patterson’s departure, so dealing with it is nothing new for Graham.

“I can’t control what people say, but the fact is I’m one hundred percent committed to be here, and looking forward to building something special,” he said. “This is a place where I’d like to be able to look back and have a legacy. That’s my intention here, and that’s what we’re focused on doing.”

Graham has compiled a 14-7 record (9-5 in Pac-12 play) during his tenure at ASU.

The 22nd-ranked Sun Devils travel to Salt Lake City to play the Utah Utes (4-4, 1-4) Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Follow @AZSports