Video: Ringer leads Northmont Thunderbolts to victory

CLAYTON, Ohio - Coming into Friday night's game, Clayton (Ohio) Northmont was confident that they would be able to control the Lebanon offense. That didn't come to fruition, however, as the Thunderbolts had to sweat out the final few minutes of their 40-33 victory.

"Our goal was to shut them out," said linebacker Kaleb Ringer, a senior Michigan commit. "We talked all week in practice about shutting them out. That running back is good, and that O-line we definitely underestimated, but whatever it takes to get the win. We got that W."

Ringer finished with six solo tackles (two for loss) for the Thunderbolts and five assists. He was routinely in the Lebanon backfield, but didn't turn that penetration into many tackles.

VIDEO

RINGER BREAKDOWN

As mentioned above, Ringer did a good job slicing into the backfield against Lebanon. He was around the play as frequently as you can expect from an outside linebacker, since opposing offenses can scheme away from them. However, he didn't do a great job breaking down to make tackles, which admitted after the game.

"I came out with my head in the game, and I tried to stay intense, but I just kept missing tackles," Ringer said. "A good player can't get frustrated when he makes mistakes, so I tried to keep my head in the game."

He looked good from an athleticism perspective. He moves well, and has a nose for the ball - he just needs to finish plays. There were also times where being overly aggressive caused him to fall for misdirection, or open cutback lanes for runners.

He reminds me quite a bit of fellow Michigan commitment James Ross. Both have good instincts, and they're about the same size right now. Ross is a more consistent playmaker who is technically-sound in every aspect of the game. Ringer has a bit bigger frame to fill out, and has more of a free reign to make plays for his team. The two commits should be good complements at the college level.