Football
Dougherty, Ryan
Ryan Dougherty
- Title:
- Special Team Coordinator
- Email:
- football@usc.edu
- Phone:
- (213) 740-4204
Ryan Dougherty enters his fourth season at USC. Prior to the 2024 season, he was named Special Teams Coordinator.
In 2024, Dougherty tutored Trojan punter Eddie Czaplicki became USC’ 177th First Team All-American and USC’s first-ever Ray Guy Award winner for being the nation’s best punter. Czaplicki not only earned All-Big Ten First Team honors by the coaches and the media, but he was named the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year by the Conference. USC ranked first in the nation in net punting (45.4). He led the nation in percentage of punts inside the 20 for punters with a minimum of 30 attempts. Twenty-five of his punts were inside the 20, 10 were inside the 10 and 4 inside the 5.
Additionally, Makai Lemon was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team as a return specialist. Lemon led USC with 19 kickoff returns for 514 yards (27.1 avg) with a long of 80 yards. He finished the reason ranked No. 6 in the nation (No. 2 in the Big Ten) in kickoff returns. Lemon also ranked No. 16 in the nation (No. 2 in the Big Ten) in combined kick returns (514). Lemon was also a crucial member of the punt coverage team downing punts for Ray Guy winner, Eddie Czaplicki.
Dougherty was a senior special teams analyst during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
He spent the previous 5 seasons (2017-21) as the special teams analyst at Oklahoma. The Sooners played in the 2018 Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2018 Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2019 Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2020 Cotton Bowl and 2021 Alamo Bowl.
He was the special teams coordinator and an offensive assistant at Lehigh in 2015 and 2016. Ed Mish was an All-Patriot League first team selection at punter and kicker in 2016, while Austin Devine was an all-league punter in 2015. The Mountain Hawks played in the 2016 FCS playoffs.
Before that, he was at East Carolina for 5 seasons (2010-14), the first 2 years as a special teams assistant and the last 3 as a graduate assistant working with the special teams and offense. While there, he worked with All-Conference USA punter Trent Tignor, placekicker Warren Harvey (ECU’s career scoring leader) and all-league punt returners Justin Hardy and Dwayne Harris, who both played in the NFL. East Carolina played in the 2010 Military Bowl, 2012 New Orleans Bowl, 2013 Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl and 2015 Birmingham Bowl.
He was an instructor with the National Kicking Service for 6 years (2004-09). He also was a football and soccer coach from 2007 to 2009 at William R. Boone High in Orlando (Fla.), his alma mater.
He was a punter at East Carolina (2003-06), where he set Conference USA career records for punts (237) and punting yardage (10,112).
He earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 2006 and master’s degree in health education in 2014, both from East Carolina.
He was an All-State punter at William R. Boone High, where he also played wide receiver and was on the soccer and track teams.
In 2024, Dougherty tutored Trojan punter Eddie Czaplicki became USC’ 177th First Team All-American and USC’s first-ever Ray Guy Award winner for being the nation’s best punter. Czaplicki not only earned All-Big Ten First Team honors by the coaches and the media, but he was named the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year by the Conference. USC ranked first in the nation in net punting (45.4). He led the nation in percentage of punts inside the 20 for punters with a minimum of 30 attempts. Twenty-five of his punts were inside the 20, 10 were inside the 10 and 4 inside the 5.
Additionally, Makai Lemon was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team as a return specialist. Lemon led USC with 19 kickoff returns for 514 yards (27.1 avg) with a long of 80 yards. He finished the reason ranked No. 6 in the nation (No. 2 in the Big Ten) in kickoff returns. Lemon also ranked No. 16 in the nation (No. 2 in the Big Ten) in combined kick returns (514). Lemon was also a crucial member of the punt coverage team downing punts for Ray Guy winner, Eddie Czaplicki.
Dougherty was a senior special teams analyst during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
He spent the previous 5 seasons (2017-21) as the special teams analyst at Oklahoma. The Sooners played in the 2018 Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2018 Orange Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2019 Peach Bowl (CFP semifinal), 2020 Cotton Bowl and 2021 Alamo Bowl.
He was the special teams coordinator and an offensive assistant at Lehigh in 2015 and 2016. Ed Mish was an All-Patriot League first team selection at punter and kicker in 2016, while Austin Devine was an all-league punter in 2015. The Mountain Hawks played in the 2016 FCS playoffs.
Before that, he was at East Carolina for 5 seasons (2010-14), the first 2 years as a special teams assistant and the last 3 as a graduate assistant working with the special teams and offense. While there, he worked with All-Conference USA punter Trent Tignor, placekicker Warren Harvey (ECU’s career scoring leader) and all-league punt returners Justin Hardy and Dwayne Harris, who both played in the NFL. East Carolina played in the 2010 Military Bowl, 2012 New Orleans Bowl, 2013 Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl and 2015 Birmingham Bowl.
He was an instructor with the National Kicking Service for 6 years (2004-09). He also was a football and soccer coach from 2007 to 2009 at William R. Boone High in Orlando (Fla.), his alma mater.
He was a punter at East Carolina (2003-06), where he set Conference USA career records for punts (237) and punting yardage (10,112).
He earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 2006 and master’s degree in health education in 2014, both from East Carolina.
He was an All-State punter at William R. Boone High, where he also played wide receiver and was on the soccer and track teams.
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