Javon Ringer
American football running back.
My offensive player of the year is going to be Javon Ringer for the way he has carried his team and the workhorse load that he’s carried all year long. Everyone knows he’s getting the football yet he continues to produce.
A lot of that just comes from my upbringing. I have a tremendous mother and father, I grew up in the church, I have a very religious family. I’m not all about myself just because I know if it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be able to go out there and compete anyway. So I never look at it as a selfish thing—I never want all the attention or want it to be about me, because I never want to get in to a situation where God has to humble me. I know for a fact that I am not doing it by myself; it is because of Him that I can compete over and over again. That’s basically how I grew up. I was blessed and fortunate to have a family like I have.
He's a freak - he never gets tired.
When you put the ball in his hands there is no telling what is going to happen - sometimes I am just amazed watching what he can do even though I am playing on the same field he is.
Every time I've done something in the community, each of the people that I've met, they're an inspiration to me. Their spirits are so high. What I'm going through on the field is nothing compared to what they're going through. Their issue is a matter of life and death. Just being able to put one moment of happiness in their life, that's something that I really cherish doing.
The Javon Ringer Show is gathering steam with each passing game. What Michigan State has known since his arrival on campus in 2005, the nation is now seeing on highlight reels with regularity on Saturday nights. But Javon's focus remains the same. He will continue to praise his teammates. He will continue to be a fixture in the community. And he will continue to lead with a quiet, steady demeanor that signifies dignity in all aspects of his life.
I thank God that my body has been able to handle this kind of workload. I don't know if I will ever be like Lorenzo White, but that's the goal I'm trying to get to.
"I know with my size, a lot of people might think I'm like a slasher, a make-you-miss guy, which I can do that. But I also like to lower my shoulder and get the tough yards, too. I like contact. I like to mix it up."
Honestly, my number-one motivation is my family.
I was brought up knowing you can't do anything truly by yourself. It's God blessing you in some way, shape or form. I have a religious family, and that's just how I was raised. Being a running back, it's also very obvious to me. Any running back that's ever played football, all of the success comes from the people up front. There's no way a running back can be good if nobody is blocking for him.
Javon's definitely a go-to guy as far as helping out in the community. He's not seeking the attention. Everything he does is for the right reasons, and he's willing to take the time, which he doesn't have a lot of. He's not doing it because I'm telling him he has to go out, or because he's the face of Michigan State football. When he's out there, he's doing it because he believes in doing it."
Javon Ringer "epitomizes everything a student-athlete should be."
I'll go anywhere. To get picked up somewhere will be a blessing
Michigan State already has one of the coolest mascots in college football, but if Sparty ever needs a day off, Javon Ringer could do the job. After all, he already does just about everything else for MSU.
I think he’s very good and very blessed to be operating behind those five guys. That’s the big problem, having to sort through those five big guys to find where he is. When they all come off at one time they look like a herd of water buffalo stampeding at you and there’s a gazelle somewhere in behind them. He’s also very persistent and you can see how strong he is.
You can hit him and hit him and hit him and he just keeps on coming. I think that I learned a long time ago that one attribute that great players have is stamina, and he obviously has great stamina.
In practice he never stopped until you blew the whistle, There were times he'd keep running, going across the parking lot and into neighborhood, and one of the kids would say, "Coach, you forgot to blow the whistle. You have to go get Javon."
He's extremely self-motivated. He doesn't need pep-talks. He challenges himself every day.
He’s total team player - it’s not about him, and you can’t say enough about him as a person aside from his athletic abilities. But it’s the person in him, it’s the intangibles within him that make him the back that he is. There are other guys who are just as explosive and just as fast, but it’s the things inside of him that make him special.
Javon Ringer works harder than anybody, For the younger backs to see how hard he competes and prepares himself every week makes him a great role model."