Football players highlight long list of choices

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The most difficult thing about picking MSU’s male player of the decade is that there are many different ways to approach the question.

What I’m choosing isn’t MSU’s most valuable player of the decade. If I were, it would be former men’s basketball guard Drew Neitzel.

I’m not choosing the athlete of the decade. If I were, it would be former high-flying guard Jason Richardson.

And I’m not selecting the most dominant Spartan of the decade. If I were, it would be current wrestler Franklin Gomez.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, as far as I’m concerned, this decade runs from 2000-09. That means Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson — for as great as they were — only played 26 games this decade.

Without further ado, here are MSU’s top five players of the decade:

5. Neitzel, men’s basketball (2004-08) — I already tabbed Neitzel as MSU’s MVP of the decade, mainly for averaging 18.1 points per game while single-handedly carrying the 2006-07 team to the NCAA Tournament. He also was the starting point guard for a Final Four team (2004-05) and is the school’s 14th all-time leading scorer.

4. Ryan Brehm, men’s golf (2004-08) — Brehm’s 73.30 scoring average is the best in school history, and his four per-season scoring averages rank in the top 15 in program history. He also was a four-time All-Big Ten honoree and three-time second-place finisher at the Big Ten Championship.

3. Ryan Miller, hockey (1999-2002) — I’m not a hockey fan, and quite frankly I don’t know anything about the sport. But I do know the Hobey Baker Award is a big deal, and allowing fewer than two goals per game for three seasons and racking up an NCAA-record 26 career shutouts are quite impressive feats.

2. Javon Ringer, football (2005-08) — Ringer’s 4,398 career rushing yards rank second in program history, as do his 843 attempts. His 34 touchdowns rank No. 4 in school history and he also led the Spartans in rushing for all four seasons. Statistically, he’s the second best running back in school history. To me, he’s the second best player of the decade.

1. Charles Rogers, football (2001-02) — Rogers only played two seasons for MSU, but what an amazing two seasons they were.

In 2001, he had 67 receptions for 1,470 yards and 14 touchdowns. The next season, he had 68 receptions for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning the Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s top wide receiver.

Other career statistics to consider are his 12 100-yard games (first in school history), 2,821 yards (second), 20.9 yards per catch (second by 0.1 yard) and 135 receptions (fourth). Simply put, Rogers is the best wide receiver in history at a school with decades of wide receiver tradition.

But statistics tell only half the story.

An imposing and impressive physical specimen at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Rogers did things on the athletic field unmatched by any other Spartan this decade, and it’s safe to say no other Spartan this decade has stood out from his competitors as much as Rogers did.

No, Rogers never lived up to the expectations that come with being taken No. 2 overall in the 2003 NFL Draft.

But it’s important to remember those expectations came to be by Rogers having two of the best seasons as a wide reciever in MSU history and going down as the MSU male player of the decade.

Cash Kruth is the State News sports administration reporter. He can be reached at kruthcas@msu.edu.

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