ASU's special teams unit had a turbulent 2024 campaign compared to its offense and defense. The Sun Devils’ Special Teams Coordinator, Charlie Ragle, offers a candid perspective on this unit and its keys for improvement this coming season. He also discusses his close and unique relationship with Kenny Dillingham.
(note: this interview was conducted before Ragle was announced as the NFF's Frank Kush Lifetime Achievement Award recipient)
DevilsDigest: When it comes to the special teams’ 2024 performance, there were some notable performances, like the Mississippi State win, and some struggles, such as the Cincinnati loss. When you review that season, what are your thoughts on this unit’s performance?
Charlie Ragle: “I think when you say special teams this past year at Arizona State, the first thing that comes up is the kicking situation. When you look at it in totality, it wasn't good. We started off pretty good when Ian (Hershey) started off 7-9 going into the Cincinnati game. Obviously, we know what happened there (Cincinnati game). Then it was musical chairs after that.
“Obviously, that was our focus in the offseason. We had to bring somebody in that we felt could perform at a high level (. We scoured the country looking for the top kicker that was in the portal. We feel that we got that guy in Jesus Eastern Michigan transfer, Jesus Gomez) in his three years a career 80% field goal kicker. He's kicked some big kicks at different games. We feel very good about that situation going into spring and, furthermore, into the fall.
“That aside, we started the true freshman punter (Kanyon Floyd,) who we think is going to get better. I know that numbers don't necessarily reflect it (40.73-yard average). When you start focusing on numbers, it gets convoluted. I think that stats can be swayed any which way you want them to. You can shape them however you want. At the end of the day, do you win or lose games? I thought we did some really good things, but I think that when you look at special teams, we need to be better in the net punt category. We only had seven balls returned on us all year, which was a good thing. Unfortunately, we gave up the one touchdown in the Peach Bowl, which was critical in big games like that. I think that Kanyon Floyd is going to be really, really good. I expect him to take a huge jump from his freshman year to his sophomore year.
“When you look at the special teams overall, we were a part of winning two football games. I think it was seven games that we won by one score or less. Central Florida, we had the blocked punt to score a touchdown. We make a tackle on the one-yard line, and on the next play, our defense gets a pick. The Mississippi State game, which seems like eons ago, Ian goes 3-3 in a game that we won by seven points.
“We've got to add speed to our roster and help ourselves in the return game. We need some explosive players and game-breakers. We have explosive players in the sense of making plays, but we need some guys who can run at an elite level and help us in that return game. That’s what we were focusing on in this recruiting cycle.”
DevilsDigest: With Gomez already on campus and as someone who will assume both the kickoff and field goal duties, how do you see the competition for those duties?
Charlie Ragle: “We have Ian Hershey. Late last year, we added Tommy Christakos, who played at Cal, who was a kid that I recruited there out of Chaparral High School and was a kicker/punter out of high school. He will also compete in the spring with Ian and Carston Kieffer. The kicker and punter combo roles are the thing I expect out of Ian and Tommy, because Carston is more of a pure kicker. Best guy wins the job. Period.”
DevilsDigest: I thought Kieffer ended the year with some momentum and went 3-4 in the postseason after not playing the entire season aside from a brief appearance in the season opener. For a young kicker, it seems that he perhaps took that next step. What did you see from him, and what was his development?
Charlie Ragle: “He came out of spring incredibly efficient, and it was a battle between him and Ian going into fall camp. He actually held the starting spot going in early, but it kind of faded a little bit as camp finished. Then he had a crack early in the season, and it was a little bit jittery, just freshman jitters getting in there. Then, we came back to him towards the end of the year. He nailed the big kick in the Big 12 Championship game. And to be honest with you, had we not got beat up front on the one field goal in the Peach Bowl, he's 3-3 in that game. He finished the season extremely well. I expect him to compete, and that’s the thing about Carston that I love. I love his mentality, a no-frills guy who comes to work every day. He's the ultimate competitor, and I expect him to be right in the mix in the spring.”
DevilsDigest: What is the long snapper situation going into spring practice?
Charlie Ragle: “Tyler Wigglesworth is our guy, and we're going to give him a chance to win the job this spring. At the end of the day, he didn't get a whole lot of action last year. But what we did see is he got better over the course of the year, and then he comes in and snaps in the Peach Bowl. To have not started a game before that and then go into the biggest game in arguably Sun Devil history, or certainly one of the biggest games in Sun Devil history, and to snap like he did, you've got to take your hat off to him. So that’s a guy who earned the opportunity to be the starter here.
“And then we have a player who has long snapped but also plays another position as the backup long snapper. So, we get the duality, if you will, of a player who can play in a backup position, per se, but also can come in if we need him as the backup snapper. He could be an offensive lineman, a tight end, or a linebacker. We've got a few guys that we're going to try out this spring and then make that determination.”
DevilsDigest: Looking specifically at kick coverage, punt coverage, kick return, and punt return, how do you feel about those four specific areas of special teams?
Charlie Ragle: “We were down from last year (2023). We go from leading the Pac-12 last in kick return to really not returning any kicks this year. When Raleek Brown got hurt, and Jake Smith was up and down and got hurt himself, it really hampered us in the kick return game. This is an area where we need a guy that has some big play capability and some explosiveness back there to give us a chance to emphasize that aspect of the game. Like I said, in our first season, we showed that we could do it. We've got to have that guy back there in order to give ourselves a chance.
“The return game, a lot is controlled by the kicker and the punter. If they kick it for a touchback, you don't have a shot. In terms of the punt return game, I thought Melquan Stovall did an admirable job and was very solid and steady. A lot of times when you get stopped and our defense got a punt, a lot of those times those would be on the 35, 40-yard line. Not quite midfield, but when you get probably past the 35-yard line, a good punter is going to force fair catches every time. Melquan did a steady job in that, and we need to get better there, for sure.”
DevilsDigest: When you mention wanting more speed to improve the return game, and maybe even the coverage game, for that matter, which returning players and/or new additions do you think we might see starting in spring practice in those areas?
Charlie Ragle: “Let's talk coverage game first. I think a guy like (defensive back) Plas Johnson stands out, and can run extremely well. (wide receiver) Malik McClain was the guy who redshirted but played for us in the postseason, and I think he's another guy who can help us in that department. In the return game, Raleek pops into our heads as a potential kick returner. I like the freshman wide receiver we brought in, Corey Butler. Runs a 100-meter 10.5. So, that's real speed and has some return capabilities. The wide receiver transfer Jalen Moss was an all-conference punt returner at Fresno State, and he’s another guy that certainly comes to mind when you talk in the return game.”
DevilsDigest: Going to spring practice, because of the fact that it was such an up-and-down season for special teams, what are you going to try to employ differently starting day one of spring practice to begin that process improvement over last year?
Charlie Ragle: “Well, I think you've got to identify who the players are going to be. I think this is a two-pronged deal. The reality is that in order to be good at special teams, you have to enhance the speed of your football team, period. Point blank. Obviously, we're working on that every day. I feel like when you look at how do we get better, it really comes down to if you can be elite in the specialist department. We had seven punts returned on us this season, and there were only three of the seven that were big punts that were returned for over 12 yards. One was at Oklahoma State late in the game, when the game clearly had been decided; the same thing happened in the Arizona game and then, as I mentioned, in the Peach Bowl. In the world of special teams, those small plays, they're microcosms, and they become a big deal.
“How do we eliminate is your question, and for me, one, we have to perform at a high level in the specialist world. We need to be 75% or greater on our field goal kicking next season. Ideally, we'd like to be 80% or better. Then, in the punt game, our punter can control quite a bit of the ability of punts not getting returned, and I’m looking for a big step forward from Kanyon as a sophomore. Then, it is about trying to identify four or five guys that have that next level speed that we're looking for that can help us in the coverage game.”
DevilsDigest: How can the expansion to 105 scholarship players improve special teams?
Charlie Ragle: “When you have 105 scholarship players versus 85, it enhances your talent level, and that's only going to help in the world of special teams. But here's where I'm a staunch believer: Everyone says, ‘Hey, we've got to get better on special teams, but maybe we don't play the starters. Maybe we could play the guys who don’t see the field as much. Well, if you want starter results, you've got to play with starters. This is the age-old adage of coaching special teams. It's a fine balance of who plays, and how many reps do they play. But in order to get the quality of production on the field, you have to play with those players that can produce that quality.
“105 scholarships are going to enhance your roster, most definitely. But at the same time, when it comes to specialist positions, you get a kicker, punter, and long snapper on scholarship. That's pretty much standard everywhere you go. And then some of the other guys in those positions were walk-ons when we had 85 scholarship players. So, how many scholarships are you going to spend on specialists? You want to have that ability to have more players who can help you on special teams, not just a specialist who's on scholarship and is not playing. Now, having more scholarship players can certainly factor into your depth when somebody gets hurt or when you need that backup punter to run scout team punts so that your starting punter can stay fresh for games. There are a lot of things that factor into that. Bottom line, the enhancement of the depth, should help us on special teams.”
DevilsDigest: It’s been well documented that you're the closest coach on staff to Kenny Dillingham. What, in your opinion, goes unnoticed about Kenny when it comes to the biggest contributor to the success the program has experienced in 2024?
Charlie Ragle: “Unequivocally, it’s how he connects to the kids, and not just the kids on our roster, but in recruiting. His ability to be able to take from a position of where he's at as a head coach and come down to their level where he makes them feel very comfortable in talking to them and joking. And then those players realizing, ‘Hey, I can come here, we're going to bust our ass, but we're going to have fun doing it.’ That's a gift he possesses, and that's the one thing that I've watched especially in the last year, where he only continues to get better at.”
DevilsDigest: Dillingham joked that you are the coach on staff that reigns him in when he may have a unique idea, etc., he wants to implement. Was this sounding board role, so to speak, something that you fully expected to assume when he hired you to come to ASU, or was this a function that simply evolved over time?
Charlie Ragle: “Looking at that BYU game, I don’t know how well of a job I’m doing (laughs). It has evolved, and my biggest thing as I’ve told him is that, ‘I’m in a position in my career where I’m not smarter, I just have been around a little longer and seen more pictures.’ My job is to help him and help our program in any shape or form. It’s a role that I embraced and helping him any way he needs it in a lot of different facets.
“At the same time, he’s also helping me and challenging me. Sometimes, you get set in your ways, and you want to do things a certain way. And he comes at things with certain approaches where you’re like. ‘Hey man, that’s crazy,' and then it works. So, maybe it wasn't so crazy. It’s a good balance, and we complement each other well.
“I just want to see us win at a high level and continue to win. When you get to this point of your career, you realize, and I’ve always been driven this way, that it’s about the people. I don’t care what you do in life; the whole process is about the people. And anybody that really knows me, knows I’m people driven. And when you drive with the right people, you’ll always get to the right location.”
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