Syracuse has hired Arizona State’s defensive coordinator Tony White for the same position, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel. The move comes less than two weeks after recently-hired Zach Arnett vacated SU’s defensive coordinator position by leaving for Mississippi State.

Sources: Syracuse is hiring ASU DC Tony White as the defensive coordinator. He brings Syracuse the unique 3-3-5 defense from his time at San Diego State, which Dino Babers has targeted for his program.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 5, 2020

White — who was just promoted to ASU defensive coordinator in Dec. 2019 after two seasons as the Sun Devils’ cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator — deploys the same 3-3-5 scheme that Arnett would’ve brought to the Orange. It’s a switch from the 4-3 scheme that Syracuse head coach Dino Babers has run in his five years at Syracuse. 

Before White arrived at Arizona State, its defense ranked 99th or lower for three-straight seasons in scoring defense. During those years, White commanded San Diego State’s secondary that ranked 11th and 15th in the country for total defense and passing yards allowed per game in 2017, respectively. In 2019 — White’s second year in Tempe — the Sun Devils’ improved to 39th and only allowed 23.1 points per game.

At Syracuse, White will inherit a secondary that returns defensive backs Andre Cisco, Trill Williams and primary backup safety Eric Coley. The Orange are coming off a 5-7 season where both conference and nonconference opponents carved up SU’s defense, leading to the firing of former defensive coordinator Brian Ward after the Nov. 2 Boston College loss. Arnett was initially hired on Jan. 11 to replace Steve Stanard’s interim role, but then left despite signing an offer sheet, according to Syracuse.com’s Nate Mink.

UPDATED: Feb. 7, 2020, at 9:15 a.m.

Syracuse Athletics officially announced White’s hiring through a press release Friday morning, more than three days after it was reported. “Tony has coached in some elite defenses during his career and we’re happy that he, Angela, Anthony III and Ava are now part of the Syracuse family,” Babers said in the release.