Javon Eugene Ringer (born February 2, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans, earning consensus All-American honors in 2008. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL draft.
Ringer attended Chaminade Julienne High School where he set school and state records. In college, he achieved many awards. In 2005, he earned honorable mention Freshman All-America status from The Sporting News. He was also named to The Sporting News Big Ten All-Freshman Team. In 2006, he earned the Biggie Munn Award, an award given to the team's most inspirational player. In 2007, he had a breakout season, becoming Michigan State's first 1,000 yard carrier since T. J. Duckett in 2001.Count Ringer among fans of Hart Steve Grinczel. "Count Ringer Among Fans of Hart." Mlive.com. November 1, 2007 He was also named Second Team All-Big Ten in the coaches and media polls. Associated Press. "Big Ten Announces 2007 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors." cstv.com. November 19, 2007 In 2008, as a senior, he was one of four team captains. He was a semi-finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award, and was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, which he finished in third, behind Shonn Greene and Knowshon Moreno. He was also a Heisman Trophy candidate at one point, the only running back to be officially nominated all year.
He had a minor knee injury during the end of the 2008 season, which led to corrective surgery. This slowed his Combine numbers; however, he improved upon them during MSU's Pro Days. He was one of three Spartans invited to the NFL combine. ESPN.com ranked him the 8th best running back in the draft. He was a projected third rounder in the 2009 NFL draft. Another site listed him as a mid-second round draft choice. His performance at the MSU Pro Day "absolutely blew NFL teams away", due to putting up impressive numbers while not fully recovered. After being drafted by Tennessee in the fifth round, Ringer battled several running backs for the third string position coming into his rookie 2009 season, a battle he won. He made his NFL debut in week 1, as a kick returner, and overall has played in 7 games. He was benched as kick returner after a poor performance in week 2. He had his first NFL carries in a week 6 game against the New England Patriots. Ringer's NFL career was marred by injuries, having missed 27 games in 4 years. Since retiring from the NFL, Ringer has worked with his alum Michigan State as an assistant coach.
Personal Ringer is the son of Bishop Eugene and Darlene Ringer, who are both ministers. Ringer is a devout Christian. He owns a black belt in Karate. He majored in sociology.
Ringer graduated from Michigan State University in May 2015.
Football career
High school Ringer attended and graduated from Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School (the same high school former Spartan nose guard Brandon McKinney attended) where Ringer is the all-time leading rusher. He was coached by Jim Place. In 33 games, he totalled 6,184 rushing yards and 81 TDs, an average of 187.9 yard per game and 2.45 touchdowns per game. Ringer wore #29 during high school. Ringer also lettered in track, producing a personal best 10.6s in the 100-meter dash.
In 2001, as a freshman, Ringer was on the football team, but did not register an offensive stat.
In 2002, as a sophomore, Ringer was named the team's starter. He help lead his team to a 14–1 record and the Ohio D-II State Championship, which was the school's first state championship in football. He totaled 2,038 yards and scored 30 rushing TDs that year. In the state championship game, he broke records for both rushing touchdowns (4) and rushing yards in a D-II championship game (251).
In 2003, as a junior, he rushed for 2,356 yards and scored 30 rushing touchdowns, including a 307 yard, 3 TD game against McNicholas.
In 2004, as a senior, he participated in the Big 33 Football Classic, which features the top high school football players in Pennsylvania against the top high school football players in Ohio. He rushed for 1,790 yards and 21 touchdowns in seven games. His career best game was against Purcell Marian High School, where he had 372 rushing yards and scored five TDs. Later that year, Ringer tore his ACL, which kept him out the final six games of the season, and his 'shaky grades' plus a low ACT score took him off the map to attend Ohio State University. Scouts.com had him listed as the 18th best high school running back.
His measurables during his senior year were: Weight: 186 lbs, Forty time: 4.44 secs, Bench max: 325 pounds, Bench reps: 20, Vertical: 36 inches, and Shuttle: 3.87 secs. SuperPrep ranked him the 29th best back, Collegefootballnews.com ranked him 31st, while Detroit Free Press ranked him the 18th best prospect in the Midwest. Rivals.com listed him as the 13th best senior in the state of Ohio. Superprep named him the 25th best Prospect in the Midwest, while Prep Football report ranked him 37th. Max Emfinger ranked him the 4th best all-purpose back in the country. in 2004, Ringer attend the NIKE Camp in Columbus, OH in April and had a very impressive workout
He received scholarship offers from Michigan State, USC, Tennessee, Florida, and Iowa. Ringer was also heavily recruited by Ohio State, but did not receive a scholarship offer from the school. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said “(We) were very interested. We thought he was a great player.” One article said the reason why Ringer wasn't given an offer is because OSU compared Ringer to Ryan Brewer, a high school standout from Troy, Ohio who OSU passed on. Brewer had a solid college career at South Carolina for Coach Lou Holtz and helped the Gamecocks beat Ohio State in the 2001 Outback Bowl. Ringer attended summer football camps at Ohio State during high school. One of them was 2004's NIKE Camp in Columbus, Ohio. During that camp, Ringer had a camp best shuttle run of a 3.87 seconds. He also had the best vertical leap that day with a jump of . He also attended a camp at the University of Michigan.
College Coming out of high school, Ringer was a prized recruit for the Spartans, choosing Michigan State over Tennessee and Florida, among other schools. Ringer visited MSU on December 14, 2004, where and during the visit, he committed to the school. In his career at Michigan State, Ringer was very successful. Ringer rushed for 4398 yards in his career at Michigan State, with a 4.1 yards per carry average. Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis has described Ringer's abilities by saying, "You can hit him and hit him and hit him and he just keeps on coming." Ringer's college numbers are similar to those of Emmitt Smith, Thurman Thomas, Brian Westbrook and Frank Gore. In 2010, Ringer was named an honorable mention, along with another Michigan State player Charles Rogers, in ESPN's "Big Ten players of the decade".
In 2005, as a Freshman, Ringer earned honorable mention Freshman All-America status from The Sporting News. He was also named to The Sporting News Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He finished with 122 carries for 817 yards, the second-best single-season rushing total by a True freshman in MSU history.
In 2006, as a sophomore, Ringer earned the Biggie Munn Award given to the team's most inspirational player. In eight games (including five starts), he led the Spartans in rushing with 86 carries for 497 yards, despite missing five games with a knee injury. Then-Spartans coach John L. Smith said of Ringer, "Javon Ringer is a special player and a special young man. He has incredible heart and courage. After suffering what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury, Javon willed himself back onto the playing field. He worked his tail off, so he could go to the field and compete with his teammates."
After his sophomore year, Ringer changed his number from 39 to 23.
As a junior, in 2007, Ringer had a breakout season, rushing for 1,447 yards on 245 carries with a 5.9 average, becoming Michigan State's first 1,000 yard carrier since T. J. Duckett in 2001. In addition, he was named Second Team All-Big Ten in the coaches and media polls.
2008 season
In April 2008, NFL draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. named Ringer as his choice as the best back in the class of 2009. Going into 2008, Ringer ranked 6th all time on MSU's rushing list with 3,259 yards. Also, his 596 carries is 7th in school history. He also was seventh on MSU's all purpose yardage list with 4,311.
In 2008, as a senior, Ringer was mentioned on several Heisman Trophy watch lists. He was nominated for three national awards: the Maxwell Award (given to the College football Player of the Year), Walter Camp Award, and the Doak Walker Award (nation's top running back). He was a preseason third-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection by Phil Steele's College Football Preview, where he was rated 6th among the nation's top running backs. The Chicago Tribune calls Ringer a "Brusing Runner", a title former teammate Jehuu Caulcrick also acquired. Ringer was also named as one of four team captains Ringer also had never carried the ball more than thirty times in a game before the 2008 season, a mark he exceeded multiple times in 2008.
On August 30, against , Ringer had 200 all-purpose yards, including a career-best 102 yards on kickoff returns, he had 81 yards on the ground on 27 attempts with two touchdowns. On September 6, against , Ringer was named Big Ten Tri-Player of the Week after scoring a career-high five touchdowns, with 205 all-purpose yards. He rushed for 135 yards on a 34 carries. On September 13, 2008, against , Ringer was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row, when he rushed for 282 yards on 43 carries, with a 6.6 average, scoring 2 touchdowns. His rushing yardage and number of carries were career highs at the time. In that game, he had 309 all-purpose yards, which is 2nd all time in MSU History. On September 20, against , Ringer had 39 carries for 201 yards, including two touchdowns. His performance made him the first player to earn the Big Ten Offensive Player of the week award for the three consecutive weeks. On September 27, against Indiana, Ringer had a career-high 44 carries for 198 yards and one touchdown
On October 5, against , Ringer had a then season-low 25 carries for 91 yards and no touchdowns. After this win, Michigan State entered the national rankings at #23 On October 11, against , Ringer had 124 yards on 35 with 2 touchdowns. Ringer now had 1,112 yards, becoming the first Spartan with back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons since T. J. Duckett did it in 2000–2001. After this game, Michigan State had a record of 6–1, their best start since 2003. On October 16, Michigan State created a website dedicated to Ringer. Two days later, in a 45–7 loss against a tough run defense, Ringer had a then season low 16 carries for only 67 yards. On October 25, against the , Ringer had 37 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Spartans to their first victory at Michigan since 1990 and snapping a six-game losing streak against their rivals.
On November 1, against , Ringer, who was slowed by a stomach virus, had 21 carries for a then season low 54 yards, with 2 rushing touchdowns. On November 8, against , Ringer had 32 carries for 121 yards (a 3.8 average) with 2 touchdowns. Purdue coach Joe Tiller said of Ringer after the game, "I don't know if he gets stronger or if the opponent just begins to wear down. But he's had multiple games where he's broken big plays in the second half. That tells me this guy is great from an endurance point of view." On November 22, against , Ringer had a season low 17 carries for a season low 42 yards. Penn State had the nation's 10th best rushing defense at the time.