Javon Ringer stepped to the podium in Spartan Stadium following Michigan State's win over rival Notre Dame. After carrying his team to victory, as he had often done, this time with a 39-carry, 201-yard, two-touchdown performance, he fielded questions from the media.

But he wasn't alone.

Behind him stood his entire offensive line, the five guys that had paved the way for his "big day."

"I can do nothing without these guys," Ringer said after that game. "We got this win because of these guys."

That small show of humbleness is indicative of Ringer as a person. Every member of the Spartan squad and coaching staff, before raving about his exploits as a player always hark back to Ringer's qualities as a person.

While it's easy to get lost in the numbers, a nation-leading 32 carries per game and second-best 1,548 yards, it's his ability to rally his teammates and make them believe in him that sets him apart from other elite backs.

"It's the intangibles that make him the person and player he is and I want to emphasize the person because that's the difference between him and other players," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. "He just has a way of fighting through adversity. He has a way of uplifting people around him. He makes everyone else around him better."

For as kind and mild-mannered as Ringer is off the field, his running style is the exact opposite. The definition of a workhorse, Ringer accounts for 95 percent of Michigan State's rushing game and 41 percent of its scoring. As an individual, Ringer has amassed 7.6 percent of all rushing yards gained in the Big Ten this season.

At 5-foot-9, 202 pounds, Ringer doesn't have the build of a bruiser. But his teammates said he's one of the most relentless workers in the weight room and during offseason workouts. He's trained his body to take the abuse of 353 carries this season (77 more than anyone else in the country), and he never takes a direct hit.

Michigan State defensive tackle Justin Kershaw said he first knew Ringer was a special player when, as a freshman, Ringer walked into the weight room when it wasn't his time to lift and started repping 315 pounds on the bench press.

Ringer's desire to always get better has set an example for the rest of the team, Kershaw said.

"He takes care of his body. He rests when he needs to rest. He does what he needs to do in the offseason," Kershaw said. "He's just naturally gifted, so that's why he's so durable. He's genetically gifted a lot more than some guys. That's really what it comes down to."

Aside from his physical gifts, Ringer's mentality allows him to stay fresh well into the fourth quarter.

When other backs get fatigued and may lose focus, he still runs as hard as he did at the start of the game. Ringer never asks for the ball, Dantonio said, it's just a matter of the Spartans wanted to get the ball to their best player as much as possible.

And as far as his unnatural ability to maintain a more-than-30 carry per game workload and handle all the hits that he takes, Ringer once again deflects the praise.

If he didn't get the ball, he wouldn't be able to produce as well as he has. He said he's just fortunate to be in the right situation.

"I'm really thankful that coach [Dantonio] trusts me with the ball in my hands. I'm never going to tell him not to give me the ball," Ringer said. "I love competing. Having everybody trying to tackle me and hit me, I love that."

Given all of Ringer's accomplishments and publicity, it'd be easy for him to develop an aura of superiority, Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer said. After all, Ringer is on the verge of breaking former Spartan Lorenzo White's record for touches in a season (ringers needs 51 more touches during his next two games to break White's mark of 425 set in 1985).

But Hoyer said Ringer is the same guy now that he was when he set foot on campus and he's never shown any signs of arrogance.

"He's the most humble guy you meet. He cares about others more than himself, really. He's not selfish at all. You admire him for that," Hoyer said. "For him, he could be a jerk, he could be conceited, but he's not. He's a very unselfish guy and a better person than he is a player. He's, in my opinion, the best running back in the country."

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Ringer drew recruiting interest from most of the country's powers. But academic struggles turned most schools away. One of those teams was the in-state Buckeyes.

But even though Ringer wasn't able to be admitted to Ohio State, Buckeye coach Jim Tressel said he would have loved to have had him suiting up in the the scarlet and gray uniform.

"The first thing you notice about Javon Ringer is the character of person he is," Tressel said. "He lights up a room when he walks in, he lights up a huddle when he walks in it and he lights up the field when he takes the ball. He's just a quality person and a tremendously hard worker. He's everything you would dream of having in a back."

So instead of going to Ohio State, Ringer opted to head to East Lansing, Mich. Now he's playing for Dantonio, who was a former Buckeye assistant, who took the Michigan State job before the start of last season.

Call it luck or call it fate, but Dantonio said he, and the entire Spartan program, couldn't be happier to be able to call Ringer his back.

"He never has a down day. He's not the kind of guy that's gonna come out and be salty. He's always gonna have a smile on his face, he's not gonna allow things to dampen his spirits," Dantonio said. "He always sees the good in people. He's uplifting in the way he handles people. He always makes the people around him have a little bit better day."