Is Javon Ringer Ready To Strike the Heisman Pose?

If voters had their way, the Heisman would be awarded to the best player whose team plays for the National Championship title. Forget who is the best player in college football—even though that is the stated mission of the Heisman Trust—a BCS title contender's best player has now become a prerequisite to winning the Heisman.

Take a look at the last Heisman winners since the inception of the BCS Series.

Tim Tebow, Troy Smith, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Jason White, Carson Palmer, Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, and Ron Dayne were all Heisman winners who, with the exception of Tebow, played in BCS Bowls the year they won, and only Palmer and Dayne didn't play in the title game—they played in the Orange Bowl and Rose Bowl, respectively.

It looks like so far, the voters have had their way.

While no one is saying the Heisman winners didn't deserve their hardware, there seems to a growing consensus that unless your team is bowling in January, you cannot possibly be the best player in college football.

It took Superman, aka Tim Tebow, to change that current trend.

So what are Javon Ringer's chances of being crowned Mr. December?

While Michigan State is no slouch, and in fact, a rapidly-rising Big Ten team, they aren't expected to be in a BCS Bowl come this January. Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin have a more probable date in Pasadena, not Sparty.

Does that diminish Ringer's chances? Maybe.

It's up to him to put up such un-earthling stats that the voters have no choice but to vote for him. Marshall Faulk did just that, but unfortunately, was a victim of playing at San Diego State, while the U's Gino Torretta was gobbling up all of the East Coast/Midwest votes.

Lucky for Ringer, he plays east of the Mississippi.

Time to grease those wheels, feed those O-linemen some more carbs, and run due north. In short, keep doing what he's doing.

So what's the big deal about Ringer, anyway, except for the very cool name?

In just four games, he has racked up 699 yards in rushing and 11 touchdowns. He's on a projected season total of 2,097 yards and 33 touchdowns. Let that sink in a bit.

Against Florida Atlantic—the Sun Belt champ—he carried 43 times for 282 yards and a 6.6 ypc average. A week later, against Notre Dame, he rushed 5.2 ypc on 39 carries for 201 yards, with a long of 62 yards.

More eye-popping stats:

• He's No. 2 on the rushing leaders list, less than five yards behind UConn's Donald Brown.
• He's averaging over 234 all purpose yards per game.
• He's No. 3 on the all-purpose yardage leaders for 2008.
• Ringer is No. 3 on yards from scrimmage, at 184 yards per game.
• He averages over 4.8 ypc and 174 ypg.

Ringer has such speed and athleticism, no one may be able to stop him once he gets past the tackles. He's a 5'9", 202-pound bruiser, and the perfect size for NFL scouts to drool over. Solid, and unassuming.

A team player.

"Hopefully with the way we've been running the ball," Ringer told The Free Press, "people will start to stack the box and kinda forget about our passing game, and that will just help us to win."

Well said, young Jedi. You have been taught well. Open up the passing game when they stack the box.

A player who isn't a diva? A player who wants his team to win above his own personal gain? A big-time running back from Michigan State? A swell guy?

Yeah.

Sparty got some wheels now. Now don't look back, kid. Run, Ringer, run.

Then you can strike the pose.