Q&A: Javon Ringer, RB, Michigan St.

Former Michigan State Spartans’ workhorse tailback Javon Ringer runs low to ground, tends to fall forward after contact, and remained high on the Heisman watch-list during his 2008 senior campaign. Ringer measures in as an “undersized running back” compared to NFL standards, yet packs a 600+ pounds squat and other monstrous numbers in the weight room. No doubt Ringer’s work ethic contributed to his ability to survive nearly 400 carries between the tackles in the Big Ten last year alone. Coming into this year’s Draft, Ringer might be flying in under the radar due to his frame, but scratching beneath the surface, we may be speaking with one of this year’s hidden gems of the Draft. This, and more, on player spotlight with Javon Ringer.

So Javon: too short, too small, too slow, and injury prone. What’s your knee-jerk reaction to these?

Ringer: It’s same old, same old. I’ve heard that quite a bit; I don’t let it bother me. There are plenty of running backs in the NFL who are my height, my size, who have done great in the past and have done great in the present and who will do great in the future. A lot of times the people out there saying that aren’t out there playing football. They are just doing their job and looking at what they want to see…So I just listen to it and smile and just keep working.

If you are “selling yourself to an NFL team”, which running back would you say you resemble the most form the NFL?

Ringer: My favorite running back whom I try to imitate is Willie Parker. I really like to watch Willie Parker, his style of running. I feel like I have a similar style, his enthusiasm, his energy that he plays with on the field. That’s who I like to try and be like.

He’s a little undersized, but will run between the tackles or try and skirt around you.

Ringer: Exactly. Having that versatility and being our size, we have that quickness and can hit the sideline, but we’re both really good between the tackles. We can get those hard-nosed yards and he runs through tackles which is something I like to do as well.

Talk about how you did at your Combine and Pro Day.

Ringer: Leading up to the Combine was pretty much the toughest—while everyone else was training, I was rehabbing. So I didn’t get a lot of the training that the other running backs got. I just got my strength up enough to where I was able to run and compete and I just kind of showed up like, “Here I am, I’m here.” With me doing that, I still feel like I did great running the drills…with the 40-time, I ran a 4.5—I was faster than a lot of other running backs. I was probably one of the only guys there competing at 75-80%. A lot of the other running backs probably would not have competed. After the Combine and up to the Pro Day, I got my knee up to 85-90 percent and I feel like I did extremely well at my Pro Day. I was able to show improvement in that short period of time [from the Combine]. At my Pro Day, I ran a 4.42 [40-time]. I did tremendous in the shuttle—I ran a 3.73 [seconds], and in the L drill I ran a 6.67 [seconds]. So I was able to improve from my Combine to my Pro Day.

How did NFL teams respond to the news that you were doing the drills not at 100 percent?

Ringer: At first, they didn’t even think I was going to be able to run. But when I told them I was still going to go out there and compete, they were really impressed with the fact I wasn’t backing down. I felt like if I could run [at the Combine], I should. I felt like it was a blessing to even get invited, so I felt like I should go out there and compete. They were really impressed I was able to go out there and put up numbers when I wasn’t 100 percent.

Why are you who you are? What makes you want to be a team guy and not a stat guy?

Ringer: 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.

You were the feature back last year, but you also spent time in a two-back system. How do you see yourself in the NFL?

Ringer: Sharing the backfield with someone in the NFL while still being able to produce, I feel like I can fit that role. A lot of NFL teams are going to the two-back system, and that’s something I have worked in for three years. But I am also able to carry the full workload myself, which I was able to show in a big way my senior year. I just feel that shows any NFL team that would draft me that I am able to do both.

Looking back at tape from 2008, do you think you were facing more 8-man fronts?

Ringer: I know for a fact I was. Pretty much by the third game of the season I knew that was going to happen. And every game after that it sure was. Teams were doing what they could to stop our running game because we were predominantly a running team.

What do you think was your best win?

Ringer: Our best win was…

I have one I can think of…[laughs]

Ringer: [laughs] Yeah, I would have to say Michigan. Just by finally being able to get over that hump, beating our rival school. I was glad, blessed and fortunate enough to do it my senior year, and now, hopefully, Michigan State will establish a winning thing for our school now.

And most disappointing loss?

Ringer: For me, it was Ohio State, Penn State and Georgia in the Bowl game. The Ohio State game— there was a lot of hype behind that game and that was supposed to be a big game for us…that was a big game for us that we needed to step up in, but we fell short. And the Penn State game, for a share of the Big Ten title, another big game, and we fell short again. That game also got out of control. And with Georgia, another big game, we were in that game as well but things just came apart.

So who out of those three had the best defense you faced? Big Ten school or SEC school?

Ringer: Probably Penn State—they had a tremendous defense. Ohio State and Georgia had great defenses, too. Playing in Happy Valley in the snow didn’t help for the Penn State game.
They have a tremendous crowd and a tremendous stadium. Their stadium is amazing and their fans are always excited, no matter what the weather conditions.

Best environment you played in? A bowl game, visiting another Big Ten team?

Ringer: Hmmm…

Or was it the Big House against Michigan?

Ringer: [immediate response] Nah, it wasn’t Michigan.

[laughs]

Ringer: It would be a toss-up between Ohio State and Penn State. Their fields, the set-up of their stadiums, and all their fans. Actually Wisconsin is in there too, but I would say Ohio State and Penn State.

Well, Wisconsin has the rehearsed cheers and of course, “Jump Around”.

Ringer: It’s interesting. I only got to play there once. But especially when they do their whole "Jump Around" thing, that’s really something interesting to watch.

Which was your best performance this past year?

Ringer: It probably would either be Notre Dame or Michigan.

You're an Ohio native, right? Would you rather play in-state with the Lions or back in front of your home crowd with either the Browns or the Bengals?

Ringer: I want to go some place close to home either way. I have a lot of people who would support me in the state of Michigan or Ohio. Chicago, Indianapolis, the Bengals, the Browns, just somewhere close because I know it would be really convenient for my family to be able to come to a lot of my games.

What do you like to do outside of football?

Ringer: I like to just relax and watch movies and kick back. [laughs] Oh man, alright, I don’t care—I like to watch cartoons.

[laughs]

Ringer: One of my favorite cartoons is either Dragon Ball Z or Family Guy. I think it’s just the kid in me, I don’t know, I just get a kick out of just sitting back and laughing.

No no, Family Guy doesn’t count as a cartoon. There’s nothing about that that is Tom and Jerry.

Ringer: [laughs]

It’s funny.

Ringer: I do like video games, too.

Have you ever checked out your attributes on EA Sports College Football 2009?

Ringer: Oh yeah, of course, you have to do that! Kind of see where you are at, where other people are at, how the video game rates you. Everybody does that—anyone is lying to you if they tell you they don’t do that.

Where do you think they [EA Sports] shorted you?

Ringer: Man, I think they shorted me at my speed, my quickness, and my breaking-tackle ability. And I might say my awareness a little bit too. [laughs]

Your awareness? Oh, that’s no good.

Ringer: Yeah right.

Photo Credit: Michigan State Athletic Communications