Ron West begins his first season as an assistant coach at Arizona State University and will serve as the team's co-defensive coordinator and work with the linebackers. With more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience, West most recently served at the University of New Mexico after spending the previous two years at the University of Illinois.

West comes to Arizona State with 16 years of experience on defense - eight as a coordinator - and 16 years on the offensive side of the ball. He was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico and the outside linebackers coach at Illinois, and spent the 2009 season as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Tulsa alongside Todd Graham before going to Illinois.

West implemented the `Devil' position at ASU, which is modeled after the `Bandit', a linebacker role that had great success in both the Big 10 and the ACC at Illinois and Clemson, respectively. His defenses at both universities recorded top-10 national finishes in total defense and enabled numerous players to garner both All-America and All-Conference accolades, as well as find success in the professional ranks.

In 2011, the Fighting Illini finished seventh in the nation in total defense with West's linebackers helping to lead the charge, allowing just 286.15 total yards per game and holding its opponents to just 4.42 yards per play. Illinois was also third in passing yards allowed per game at 162.31 ypg and finished 26th in rushing yards allowed per game with 123.85 ypg.

`Bandit' Michael Buchanan had a breakout 2011 season, registering 64 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks en route to second-team All-Big Ten honors. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in sacks and eighth in TFLs.

In 2010, West guided Fighting Illini linebacker Nate Bussey to a seventh-round NFL draft selection and All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition after totaling 83 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and an interception returned for a touchdown. Buchanan also posted a strong season in 2010 with 40 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

While on the defensive coaching staff at Clemson, where West coached the outside linebackers for five seasons, his defenses ranked in the top-25 in total defense three times. His 2004 defense ranked in the top-25 in all four major categories, including a top-10 finish in scoring defense and total defense, and his 2005 Tigers' defense finished among the top-25 in six defensive categories. Clemson's defense also placed 18th in total defense and 13th in scoring defense in 2008.

In 2006, West coached one of the greatest players in Clemson history, the late Gaines Adams, who excelled in the `Bandit' system and became the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. Adams was named to all five All-America teams in 2006 and was recognized as one of seven unanimous first-team All-Americans that year. He started all 12 games that season, recording an ACC-best 12.5 sacks, causing two fumbles and recovering three. He finished his career with 28 total sacks to tie the school record set in 1984-87.

West spent a total of 10 seasons on the coaching staff at Clemson University (1999-2008), helping the Tigers win 76 games and play in nine bowl games. He began his stint on the Tigers' coaching staff as offensive line coach in 1999, and coached the offensive line for five seasons and spent the final five on the defensive side of the ball.

West helped Clemson to a number of big victories during his tenure, including a 63-17 win over South Carolina in Columbus, S.C., in 2003, marking one of the biggest defeats in legendary coach Lou Holtz's career. West's offensive line helped pave the way in that game as the Tigers scored the most points by either team in the 100-plus years of the cross-state series. Other notable wins include a 26-10 win over No. 3 Florida State and a 27-14 win over No. 7 Tennessee in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in 2003, as well as a 24-17 overtime win at No. 10 Miami in 2004.

Before arriving at Clemson, West spent two years on Tommy Bowden's coaching staff at Tulane University (1997-98), where he coached the offensive line. His influence as line coach in '97 saw the Green Wave total nearly 4,700 yards and a school record 375 points. A year later, Tulane posted a 12-0 record as the offensive line helped pave the way for an offense to average over 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards.

West began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at West Alabama in 1979. He was at East Carolina in the spring of 1980 and became the offensive line coach at North Texas for the 1980 season. In 1981, West joined the Texas Tech coaching staff as the offensive line coach and coached special teams. He served in that capacity for four years before moving to defense in 1985 as the assistant linebackers coach.

His next stop was at Louisiana-Lafayette where he spent seven seasons (1986-92) as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach. His defenses were ranked among the nation's top-20 in total defense three times. West joined the Baylor coaching staff for four seasons (1993-96) as offensive line coach and served as the running game coordinator in his final year.

A 1979 graduate of Clemson, West was a reserve offensive lineman in 1977 and 1978 for the Clemson Tigers. He started two games as a senior and helped his team post an 11-1 record and earn a No. 6 national ranking in the final Associated Press poll. His playing career began at Marion Institute, where he earned junior college All-America accolades before transferring to Clemson.

West and his wife Becky have two adult children, Brad and Lori.

Ron West Hometown: East Point, Ga. Position: Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebacker Coach Experience: 1st Year