Graham, Petersen both impressed
SEATTLE — Todd Graham and Chris Petersen collided for the first time as Pac-12 coaches Saturday night, but the two go back a long way.
While Graham was at Tulsa and Petersen was at Boise State, the two coaching staffs got together one offseason and talked shop.
“We exchanged a lot of stuff offensively,” Graham said. “He’s a brilliant coach and a class person and (runs his program) very similar, I would think, to how we do things. He’s one of the best I’ve been around, but we kind of hooked up — me, him and (Auburn) coach (Gus) Malzahn, when he was with me. We spent a week doing it and then our ADs scheduled each other, so that wasn’t no good.”
In 2009, Boise State — ranked fifth in the country — beat Graham’s Tulsa squad 28-21.
Petersen last week couldn’t recall anything specific about the meeting but said he was impressed with how Graham ran the Golden Hurricane.
“You’re always kind of looking for details,” Petersen said. “We went back there; it was our offensive staff, and we met on some things. I just remember in general that he runs a very good program. He’s on top of everything.”
ASU offensive coordinator Mike Norvell — then just a young assistant — also participated in the meetings. He said it’s always nice to hear different ideas, but he didn’t see it as two coaching staffs divulging all their secrets.
“They know a little about us, we know a little about them, but obviously, every year is different,” Norvell said.
ASU recently has had similar off-season meetings with Auburn and Clemson. Auburn’s Malzahn and Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris worked with Graham at Tulsa.
Revenge factor?
ASU senior quarterback Taylor Kelly grew up in Eagle, Idaho, just 10 miles from Boise, where Petersen had built a