DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio State's defense may have a hard time getting its hands on Michigan State running back Javon Ringer on Saturday. But if coach Jim Tressel had his way, the Buckeyes wouldn't have let Ringer slip through their grasp in the first place.

The former Chaminade-Julienne star said Tuesday he wanted to play for his home-state team. But OSU's admission standards have risen since the late 1990s, placing some limits on the football program's ability to bring in academically borderline players, and ex-C-J coach Jim Place said Tressel couldn't get Ringer in school.

"He went to the president on it," Place said, referring to former OSU President Karen Holbrook, who refused to budge. "They loved the kid, and the kid loved Ohio State."

Ringer was so sold on the Buckeyes that he wasn't even interested in hearing a recruiting pitch from Southern Cal.

"He was in my office when (USC coach) Pete Carroll called," said Place, who now coaches at Hamilton High School. "He didn't take the phone call. He said, 'I'm being recruited by Ohio State, and that's where I want to go. If Ohio State doesn't work out, I'll move on to my next school. That's the way I do things.' "

Tressel won't comment on Ringer's recruitment, but Place said he had frequent discussions with OSU during Ringer's senior year in 2004. Assistant Jim Heacock, who recruited the Dayton area, provided regular updates on the admissions front.

"When they finally told me (Ringer was denied), I called Javon into my office and said, 'Coach Heacock called, and it's not going to work out at Ohio State,' " Place recalled. "Javon said, 'OK, coach, where should I go? I wanted to go there, but God has a plan for me.' "

Ringer, who needed to take a summer-school class after high school to be admitted at Michigan State, understood OSU's dilemma.

"It came down to my ACT," he said. "It was taking me a while to get the right score I needed to get in there, and time was running out ... I think everything worked out for the best."

Ringer is second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally in rushing and needs just 68 yards to become the first Spartan to top 1,000 since T.J. Duckett in 2001. He's averaging 7.1 yards per carry this season and 6.6 for his career.

"He is the truth, in every respect — as a player, a competitor, an unselfish person, a man of faith," MSU coach Mark Dantonio raved. "Academically, he's an extremely hard worker. He carries himself just like you'd want your son to carry himself."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125

or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com