Javon Ringer: Darkhorse for Heisman?

Every year, there are a handful of players that have the stats to be considered preseason Heisman candidates, but the major media outlets don't mention them. Thus, the average Joe fans don't warm up to them. Last season, I mentioned Rashard Mendenhall and Jon Stewart should be considered Heisman candidates, and they went out and had marvelous seasons (and still got no Heisman love). I thought what Rashard Mendenhall did was more impressive than what Colt Brennan did. That's a different entry, though.

This is all about my 2008 dark horse, Javon Ringer. The kid had an incredible 2007 campaign, and NOBODY is talking about it. In 2007, he racked up 1,447 yards, but did it on only 245 carries. For the math-disabled, that's 5.91 yards per carry - more than Beanie Wells, Ray Rice, Mike Hart, Tashard Choice, LeSean McCoy, Darren McFadden, Knowshon Moreno, Steve Slaton, and a boatload of other great BCS conference running backs. Only Felix Jones, Mendenhall, Stewart, and Jamaal Charles ran for more ypc with over 200 carries from a BCS school. Ringer also had 35 receptions for 295 yards, so he has some versatility to his game.

In 2006, Ringer gained only 497 yards because he only had 86 carries. Why? Because he missed 5 games. He still had a sick 5.78 ypc. The year before, he had 122 carries for 817 yards - another disgusting ypc average of 6.7. It seems like Ringer has been the victim of toolittlecarryitis - that's a technical term, just trust me.

So, why isn't he being touted? Why isn't he receiving daily e-blows from fans on message boards? I truly don't know why - I have ideas, though.

1. The better known, but worse running back, Beanie Wells is in his conference, and plays for one of the wet dream teams of ESPN.
2. Average college football fans (the majority of football fans are average fans), don't do their own research.
3. He plays for Michigan State.

Here's a guy who has averaged over 6.1 yards per carry for his entire year. He finally got a nice amount of carries last season, and still kept the sick average up. His team is also on the right paper track to having a good 2008 - around 8 wins, maybe 9. He'll be JUST like Mendenhall and Stewart. People will notice him too late for the Heisman, but not too late for a 1st round draft pick.

Mark it down now - Javon Ringer is the best running back in the Big 10, and barring injury, you'll know it by week 6.

Rashard Mendenhall Needs More Carries

Rashard Mendenhall is the most underrated player in the Big 10, maybe even the entire nation. He's rushed for 839 yards on 129 carries through 7 games, but gets no Heisman hype, no future NFL star hype, nothing. A mention here or there as a good player, but nothing more. Why? Because Mike Hart? The Mike Hart who averages over 1 yard less per carry. Mendenhall averages the 7th highest per game rushing total amongst the BCS conference level teams. However, it's more because he's hamstrung by a coach who doesn't give him enough carries. Mendenhall averages a gaudy 6.5 ypc, which ranks better than the 5 of the 6 guys ahead of him: Hart, McFadden, Rice, Forsett, and Choice. Javon Ringer of Michigan State averages 7.1 ypc. Mike Hart has 1,078 yards on 200 carries. Give Mendenhall 200 carries to this point, and he has 1,300 yards.

Mendenhall also leads 5 of the 6 guys ahead of him in receiving yards with 200, behind only Ringer (again). Maybe I should do another article on Ringer, and he and Mendenhall are clearly the best running backs in the Big 10. Sure, Mike Hart can carry the ball 40 yards a game, but is that truly an asset? I think I'd rather have a Mendenhall who can get over 120 yards on 20 carries, combined with a fresh set of legs of a back-up, ala Felix Jones in Arkansas. The 1 running back approach is rare, mostly due to workload problems. For every game Mike Hart rushed 30+ times, it's another game he's taking away from his possible NFL career.

Mendenhall has been hit with the typical "non-preseason hype" bug, which happens to teams and players every year. For instance, Erik Ainge is the #1 statistical QB in the SEC, but he rarely gets pub. Mendenhall is in the same boat. Because pundits (most of them) didn't tag him as a star in July and August, he gets overlooked. However, if someone had a gun to my head, forcing me to choose a running back in the Big 10 to start for my squad, Rashard Mendenhall is the guy.

Below, I have put together a table that shows Mendenhall's ypc versus the 6 D-1A opponents he's faced, and compares his ypc to the average allowed by those defenses in their other games. I think it speaks for itself, and ends this piece very well.

Date	Opponent	Opp. YPCa	Rashard YPC	Change
9/1	Missouri	4.1	3.1	-1.0
9/15	Syracuse	4.9	9.4	+4.5
9/22	Indiana	3.7	7.9	+4.2
9/29	Penn State	1.7	4.2	+2.5
10/6	Wisconsin	4.3	8.4	+4.1
10/13	Iowa	3.1	4.5	+1.4
	ALL	3.6	6.6	+3.0