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ralf mojsiejenko #2 p | 6-3 | 198 Bridgman, MIch. Ralf Mojsiejenko earned All-America distinction as a junior in 1983 as picked by The Sporting News. One of MSU’s most dangerous weapons, he averaged 43.9 yards on 74 punts to rank fifth nationally. Included in his totals were career-high 71-yard punts vs. Notre Dame and Wisconsin. While he gained acclaim as a punter, he was a long-range threat when it came to field goals and boomed a 59-yarder (then tying the third-longest effort in Big Ten history) on the last play of the game that gave the Spartans a 29-29 tie at Purdue. In Big Ten performances, he produced a conference-leading 42.9 yards per punt. He still holds the school record in career punts with 279 and his average of 43.8 yards is No. 2 on the MSU all-time ladder. Chosen in the fourth round of the ’85 NFL Draft by San Diego. greg montgomery #23 p | 6-4 | 210 Shrewsbury, N.J. Greg Montgomery was an All-American as a junior in 1986 by the Football Writers Association and as a senior in 1987 by the Football News and the Gannett News Service. In 1986, he averaged 47.8 yards per punt, a mark that still ranks as an MSU seasonal record, and his 49.7 average in conference games is still the Big Ten standard. Among his efforts that year was a school record 86-yarder against Michigan. In 1987, he ranked fifth nationally in punting with a mark of 44.7 yards. During his career, he registered at least one punt of 50 or more yards in 33 of 35 outings. In addition, his career average of 45.2 yards ranks No. 1 on the school’s all-time list and is No. 2 on the Big Ten chart. He was chosen by the Houston Oilers in the third round of the ’88 NFL Draft. In 1996, he was named to the MSU Centennial Super Squad. earl morrall #21 qb | 6-1 | 180 Muskegon, MIch. One of the country’s premier signal callers, Earl Morrall was an All-America selection his senior year in 1955 as picked by the Associated Press, Collier’s, Look Magazine, International News Service, The Sporting News, Paramount News, NBC-TV, Hearst Syndicate and Frank Leahy. Morrall completed 42-of-68 passes for 941 yards, then tying the school record, and ranked among the top 10 in the nation in total offense with 1,047 yards. He averaged a nation-best 9.1 yards per play. He passed for a school-record 274 yards against Marquette, a mark that stood until 1969. No. 4 in the voting for the Heisman, he ranked No. 2 in the nation in punting with a 42.9 average. He concluded his MSU stint in the top spot in passing yards (2,015), and pass completion percentage. Chosen by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1955 NFL Draft, he enjoyed a successful 21-year pro career in which he played in four Super Bowls. In 1996, he was chosen as a member of MSU’s Centennial Super Squad. carl nystrom #68 g | 5-10 | 194 Marquette, MIch. Carl Nystrom was an All-American as a senior in 1955 as picked by RadioTV Guide and Frank Leahy. Nystrom captained the ’55 squad that finished 9-1 including a Rose Bowl win. He was named the team’s MVP and head coach Duffy Daugherty called him the
greatest guard he had ever coached. Nystrom, a middle guard on defense, gave a sterling performance against Notre Dame, playing all 60 minutes in a 21-7 win over the No. 4 Irish. He was the first MSU football player to earn AllAmerica recognition as both player and scholar, landing a first-team spot on the Academic All-America Team. julian peterson #98 lb | 6-4 | 235 Hillcrest Heights, MD. Julian Peterson, a first-team All-America pick by the Football News, produced a single-season record 30 tackles for losses (140 yards) in 1999, including 15 sacks (104). He earned Defensive MVP honors in the 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl after recording eight tackles, including five for losses (32 yards), vs. Florida. Peterson, who finished third on the team with 82 tackles in ’99, was one of 15 semifinalists for Defensive Player of the Year by the Football News. Despite playing only two seasons, the Hillcrest Heights, Md., native set a Spartan career record with 48 tackles for losses (215 yards). His 25 career sacks (161 yards) rank second on MSU’s all-time list. He was chosen in the first round (16th pick) of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. john pingel #37 hb | 6-0 | 178 Mt. Clemens, MIch. As a senior in 1938, John Pingel played 451 out of a possible 540 minutes while accounting for 1,127 yards and 12 touchdowns. Pingel rushed 110 times for 556 yards (5.1 avg.) and five scores and connected on 54-of-101 throws (.535) for 571 yards and seven TDs. He also averaged 41.8 yards on 99 punts, and his 4,138 punting yards still rank as the NCAA single-season record. Pingel earned first-team All-America honors from The Associated Press, International News Service, Central Press, Newspapers Enterprise Association and Liberty Magazine. In Week 5, Pingel carried 19 times for 115 yards, including TD runs of 23 and 28 yards, and threw a 3-yard TD pass to Nelson as Michigan State knocked off previously unbeaten Syracuse, 19-12. In Week 8, he had three TD passes in a 20-14 victory at Marquette, including a 10-yard scoring toss to Jack Amon with less than two minutes remaining. Born Nov. 6, 1916, in Mount Clemens, Mich., Pingel appeared in 28 consecutive games from 1936-38 for Coach Charlie Bachman and helped the Spartans to a combined record of 20-6-2 (.750), including the school’s first-ever postseason bowl appearance (1938 Orange Bowl against Auburn). His likeness is preserved in one of the sandstone panels above the main entrance to Jenison Field House. Pingel became the seventh pick in the first round of the 1939 NFL Draft (held on Dec. 9, 1938) by the Detroit Lions. In his only season in the NFL, he started eight of nine games and produced 644 total yards and four TDs. Pingel completed 27-of-48 passes (.563) for 343 yards, three TDs and four interceptions. He gained 301 yards on 74 rushes and scored one rushing TD. Pingel ranked third in the NFL in punting with his 42.8-yard average (32 punts for 1,368 yards). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1973. Prior to MSU’s Sept. 18, 2010, home game against Notre Dame, Pingel’s name was added to Spartan Stadium’s “Ring of Fame.” Gerald planutis #45 fb | 5-11 | 175 West Hazelton, PA. Gerald Planutis captured All-America recognition as a senior in 1955 as picked by Jet Magazine. The fullback bulled
his way for 385 yards on 78 carries, at the time an MSU seasonal record for fullbacks, and converted 22-of-31 extra-point attempts. MSU’s leading scorer with 52 points, he was named the Associated Press Back of the Week after rushing for 91 yards and one TD in a 21-7 win over Notre Dame. Planutis was a solid performer in the MSU secondary and helped the Spartans to an 8-1 record, along with a No. 2 national ranking. He played in two Rose Bowls and picked up 66 yards on the ground in the 1956 contest. JAVON RINGER #23 RB | 5-9 | 202 DAYTON, OHIO Javon Ringer, who rushed for 1,637 yards and a school-record 22 touchdowns in 2008, became the first Spartan running back to earn consensus All-America honors since Lorenzo White in 1987. As a senior, he earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and Walter Camp Football Foundation. A Doak Walker Award finalist and first-team All-Big Ten selection, Ringer finished 10th in the final balloting for the Heisman Trophy. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Ringer led the nation in scoring (10.2 points per game) and rushing TDs (22) while ranking fourth in rushing (125.9 yards per game) and 15th in all-purpose yards (157.8 ypg.). He led the Big Ten in scoring and allpurpose yards and ranked second in rushing. His 1,637 yards rank as the second-highest single-season rushing total in school history. Ringer became the first Spartan to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since T.J. Duckett in 2000-01. He led the Big Ten in rushing for nine consecutive weeks (Sept. 14-Nov. 9) before being overtaken by Iowa’s Shonn Greene on the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. In fact, Ringer led the conference in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards during that nineweek stretch. Ringer accounted for 97 percent of Michigan State’s rushing yards (1,637 of 1,692) and 76 percent of its rushing attempts (390 of 511) in 2008. He recorded seven 100-yard rushing games in 2008: Eastern Michigan (34 carries for 135 yards), Florida Atlantic (43 for 282), Notre Dame (39 for 201), Indiana (44 for 198), Northwestern (35 for 124), Michigan (37 for 194) and Purdue (32 for 121). Ringer had eight multi-TD games last season, including a career-best five scores vs. Eastern Michigan. Ringer became the first offensive player in Big Ten history to earn Player of the Week honors for three consecutive weeks (vs. Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic and Notre Dame). His 390 carries also led the nation – 23 more attempts than the second running back on the list. He recorded four of the six highest single-game carry totals in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision last season (career best 44 vs. Indiana, 43 vs. Florida Atlantic, 39 vs. Notre Dame and 37 vs. Michigan). Ringer ranks first on MSU’s all-time list in all-purpose yards (5,426), second in rushing yards (4,398) and fourth in rushing TDs (34; tied with Blake Ezor, 1986-89). His 4,398 career rushing yards rank No. 10 in Big Ten history. The Dayton, Ohio, native had 19 career 100-yard rushing games and 11 career multi-TD games. Ringer was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2009 National Football League Draft. andre rison #1 wr | 5-11 | 195 Flint, MIch. Andre Rison was an All-American as a senior in 1988 as selected by the Gannett News Service. The big-play wide out hauled in a team-high 39 receptions for 961 yards that year and his 24.6 yards per catch ranks second on MSU’s all-time seasonal chart. In addition, he tied the school record for TD receptions with eight. He closed out his career by grabbing nine passes for a then school-record 252 yards against Georgia in the Gator Bowl.
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