Many will say that a football team has three facets, yet media coverage and fans’ attention will largely and consistently be reserved for offense and defense, who operate on either side of the coin. Yet for Arizona State, the third dimension of the team, special teams, has garnered much conversation, whether it’s four-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week running back Cam Skattebo pleading for a spot on the kickoff team or the contentious conversations around field goal kicking.

Last week, in a 35-31 victory against UCF, special teams were the group that, in retrospect, tilted the scales in the Sun Devils’ favor during a seesaw affair in Tempe. Freshman linebacker Martell Hughes blocked a Knights’ punt, and redshirt freshman Montana Warren made the play of his young colligate career, scooping up the pigskin from his teammates' play in the first quarter and sprinting 46 yards up the sideline, scoring ASU’s first touchdown of the game.

“I was just reading my key, getting ready to block my guy, and I really kind of broke some of the rules we have on the special teams block plan,” Warren said. “But I was like, ‘I got enough room to make something happen here,’ so coach probably was holding his breath when I grabbed the ball, but it paid off for sure.”

Warren made just one tackle during the 2023 season, missing significant time due to a broken collarbone suffered during last year’s Camp Tontozona scrimmage. Coming into the 2024 campaign, he slid down the depth chart behind other safeties, redshirt junior Xavion Alford and junior Myles Rowser. However, Warren was unphased by this, working tirelessly in practice, which helped him prepare for moments such as this.

“I'm grateful for everything,” Warren remarked. “Showing up working every day and stuff like that, you stay consistent stuff like that coaches see you, so I wouldn't say it's too much pride. I'm just glad that I'm able to keep doing what I'm doing, being consistent every day, showing up on game day.

“We work a couple of drills just staying in bounds and stuff like that. We work that pretty much on a daily basis every Tuesday, so that wasn't really a problem in the scooping score. We work with Coach Ward (defensive coordinator Brian Ward) all the time.”

Warren has appeared in all of ASU's nine games of the 2024 season, admitting that the difficulties of working through a deep position group which make game day snaps on defense scarce, do test his mental approach. Yet, his overall motivation has never wavered, and even though he made his mark on special teams, this is a feat that can only aid him when his number is called to play safety.

“I say normal people would probably would have folded or quit by now,” Warren said in regards to competition in his position. “I'm not getting anything I want, but I love football, so that doesn't matter to me; I just like playing football. As long as I get to play, it doesn't matter.

“Me and coach [Defensive coordinator Brian Ward] relationship is pretty good. It really helps if you have a good relationship with your coach, so sometimes, when you don't know maybe what his vision is, you can stay confident in him just because you feel like you can trust him enough to put you in the right spot.”

Warren’s scoop-and-score play wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of another highly talented young player who has made his mark this year, freshman linebacker Martell Hughes. Hughes was awarded Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week for his exhilarating play, beating the second line of blockers and diving overtop the ball as UCF punter Mitch McCarthy blasted it off his foot.

“It's honestly an honor, especially as a freshman,” Hughes said about winning Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week.” I wasn't expecting that at all, so I'm just happy to be in this position.”

Attention to detail each week during game prep was crucial for Hughes’ success last Saturday. He nearly blocked a punt weeks prior against Kansas, and misjudging the read then served as a valuable lesson, which he made amends for tenfold.

“Kansas week, we had one drawn up for me to block it. We just had mistimed it,” Hughes recalled. “Then, coming into last week, we knew we had to go get this one. I just had the mentality just to make this play and just put our team up.

“We could see on film the way that the shields would roll out and how the punter would roll out. So I just knew that I needed to split the two shields and just go make the block. Once I’d seen the two shields not look at me, I was like, let me just dive for this and go make this play.”

Hughes wasn’t done then. Rather than gloating over his mesmerizing show of athleticism, the freshman refocused and made the play-altering block, stopping McCarthy from forcing Warren out of bounds.

“I just seen Montana pick the ball up and I was seeing the punter too,” Hughes commented. “I was like, ‘let me go make this block’ so he could get in the end zone and go up a score.”

Hughes’ impact on the Sun Devils began long before his memorable play. A formidable preseason allowed him to skip a redshirt and seeing action in all nine games in 2024, posting eight total tackles. He chalks up his early colligate success to his older linebackers in his position group, who provide him guidance along with his own niche abilities in specific situations.

“I’d really say [Junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot] and [Redshirt sophomore] Tate Romney,” Warren noted. “Just their IQ on the field, the way they're dialed in, and the way they process things on and off the field. I really admire that and look up to them for that.”

Hughes stayed dialed in himself on special teams for the entire night against the Knights, making another momentous play on the kickoff team and one that also led to an ASU touchdown.

After an awkward mishap, a hesitant UCF kick returner, Christian Peterson, jogged out of the endzone instead of taking a knee for a touchback. The barreling Hughes was able to dive and wrap up Peterson on the Knight’s one-yard line with 53 seconds left in the half. The following play featured a more head-scratching play by the visitors and had quarterback Dylan Rizk attempt a pass instead of running the ball and the clock out, and Arizona State defensive back Laterrance Welch tallied an interception and scored for a pick-six, all thanks to Hughes's special teams tackle pinning the Knight deep in their territory.

“At first, I had seen everybody slow down, and then I saw him pick the ball up, but I didn't hear no whistle,” Hughes said. “I was like, ‘let me just go and make this tackle.’ I was confused, like why didn't he (Peterson) kneel it or something, but I just made the tackle.”

In a game in which ASU was second best in every major statistical category, from total offensive yards through yards per play to first downs, it was able to squeeze out a precious conference victory. This win would not have been possible without the aid of critical plays on special teams from a pair of young players who ultimately helped alter the scoreboard in the Sun Devils’ favor.

“Coach Dillingham always talks about the three keys to the game, which is offense, defense, and, of course, special teams,” Hughes explained. “It's honestly an honor to be on the field even as a freshman, so just being out there is just fun. Coming in as a freshman, I knew special teams was one of the things that I wanted to be on just so I could see the field.”

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