Michigan State Football's Postseason Awards

As Michigan State prepares to take on Matthew Stafford and the Georgia Bulldogs in the Capital One Bowl, let’s look back at the season that was...

Offensive MVP

Without question, this award goes to Javon Ringer. Ringer amassed nearly 1,600 yards in the regular season, where no other back on the team reached even 100 yards. He led the nation for the majority of the season in yards per game, carries per game, & scoring. 

He was the epitome of the workhorse, often playing through injury and fatigue and still producing mindboggling results. In the team’s crucial game in Ann Arbor, Ringer wore down the Wolverine defenders on his way to 194 yards rushing, this after a week where Ringer was unable to even walk due to a hamstring injury he suffered in drills.

He should have some fun in the Capital One Bowl, against what has been at times, a suspect Georgia run defense.

Defensive MVP

In just his second year in Pat Narduzzi’s defense, Greg Jones has established himself as one of college football’s premier linebackers. Jones alternated between the inside and outside, but always seemed to be a bright spot, even when the team struggled.

In some of the team’s more difficult outcomes, Jones came to play, as evidenced in the loss at Penn State where Jones racked up an astounding 15 tackles, 3.5 for loss. The fact that Jones will still be patrolling the Big Ten for two more years has got to be troublesome for opposing offensive coordinators.

Best Newcomer(s)

While Glenn Winston gave the fans some thrills on special teams, and Johnny Adams provided some much needed depth in the secondary, I decided to go with some less flashy and perhaps less obvious candidates. This was a close one to be sure, so close that I have decided to give it to two players. 

Joel Foreman and Rocco Cironi. They made up the left and, probably more consistent side of the MSU offensive line this season. The best compliment you can give an offensive lineman (other than, “Hey man, you look skinny in that sweater!”) is the fact that you haven’t heard a thing about them all season long. 

You see, the main way to make a name for yourself on the offensive line, is to either get penalized often or get beat off the line often. Other than George Blaha running through the game’s starting lineups, you would have been hard-pressed to hear either of these guys names during a game.

Most Overlooked

The position that seemed to pose the biggest question mark going into 2008 was that of tight end.  The Spartans lost Kellen Freeman-Davis to the NFL, after only taking full advantage of his abilities for roughly one season (Thank you John L. Smith).   

Sophomore Charlie Gantt has put those questions to rest, as he developed into a very legitimate target for Brian Hoyer during this season while also providing a great push up front for the run. 

He very quietly led the team in touchdown receptions, and had the longest reception on the year against Indiana (82 yards). Going forward Gantt’s soft hands will continue to provide a great option for whoever has his hands under center next fall.

Biggest Surprise

After the season opener at Cal, many thought that Michigan State had found their alternative to Devin Thomas after Mark Dell went for over 200 yards receiving.  However, after injuries plagued both Dell and BJ Cunningham during the course of the year, Blair White had a coming-out party of his own, which began at the most opportune time, against the Michigan Wolverines. 

White gained the majority of his team-leading 628 yards receiving from that game on, and consistently seemed to be in the right place at the right time, as we all saw first hand in that final drive against Wisconsin.

The “Godley” Award for Spartan Special Teams Achievement

Because “Special Teams MVP” would have been too obvious, and because I was the only offensive lineman upfront on the “hands team” in high school. Brett Swenson gets this award for giving Michigan State a kicker to be proud of. The fact that Brett didn’t receive more national recognition (Groza Award consideration!?!?) was indefensible. 

He forever won the hearts of Spartan fans across the country as his field goal against Wisconsin sailed through the uprights, and in doing so, he got what every kicker needs, an abundance of confidence after a tough outing the week before.

The Play(s) of the Year

As previously mentioned, Swenson’s kick against Wisconsin should surely be here, right? Okay, if not, we all know what the alternative would be. Watching Adam Decker clobber Shonn Greene in the Iowa backfield is something I often like to do when I have a spare minute or two on the computer, but I suppose both of these choices seem a bit too obvious.

I have a couple plays that I believe were overlooked in their magnitude.

1.       Hoyer TD pass to Gantt, third quarter against Michigan.  

Things were starting to seem all too familiar in this game. Though the Spartans led early, Michigan had come back to take a 21-14 lead, late in the third qtr. MSU had driven deep into U of M territory after a long pass from Hoyer to Dell. 

After getting stuffed on first down, Don Treadwell called for play action, as Hoyer found Gantt in the back of the end zone just before getting decked in the backfield.  Hoyer celebrated the TD flat on his back, and the Spartans went on to control the rest of the game. 

2.      Hoyer pass to White, fourth quarter against Wisconsin.

The Spartans hearts had just been ripped out. Just prior, Brian Hoyer fired a beautiful pass down field into the arms of a wide open Chris D. Rucker. The only problem was that Rucker, a redshirt freshman who had seen very limited action before this game, couldn’t handle the throw.

It seemed that the Spartans had let their big chance slip through their fingers.  But then, a cool, collected fifth-year senior quarterback calmed everybody down, and found a streaking Blair White for a huge gain into Wisconsin territory, setting up the eventual game winning field goal.

While he statistically regressed from 2007, Brian Hoyer clearly grew in other, perhaps more important ways. Everyone wanted him to step up and win games, and he did just that. Nine of them, in fact.

Stat of the Year: 35-21. Enough said.