Ron Dayne

Ron Dayne at NFL.comRon Dayne (born March 14, 1978 in Berlin, New Jersey) is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the NFL. He is best known for holding the NCAA record for career rushing yards.

Dayne's athleticism and speed made him a star running back at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, New Jersey, and he was heavily recruited by many colleges. His role was expected to change when he reached college - at 270 pounds out of high school, many felt that he was simply too big to be a tailback and believed he would be best suited as a fullback. Eventually, Barry Alvarez assured Dayne of a tailback position and convinced him to come to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wisconsin career

Dayne is usually considered one of the greatest backs in NCAA football history. Known as "The Great Dayne" throughout college, Dayne was the starting running back all four years at Wisconsin. Never a flashy or boisterous player, Dayne was a workman-like back, expected to carry the ball as much as necessary - he had 1,220 carries during his career.

Over his four seasons, Dayne chased the NCAA Division I-A regular season rushing record for total yards in a career. He gained 1,863 yards as a freshman, 1,421 as a sophomore, 1,325 as a junior, and 1,834 as a senior. He finally broke the record in the final game of the 1999 season against Iowa. Dayne ended his career with 6,397 rushing yards, eclipsing the record set the previous year by Ricky Williams of Texas.

Dayne saved some of his best performances for the four bowl games to which he led Wisconsin. He rushed for 246 to lead the Badgers to a 38-10 victory in the 1996 Copper Bowl against Utah, garnering MVP honors. Dayne only gained 36 yards in the 1998 Outback Bowl loss against Georgia the next season, but bounced back the next two seasons with 246 yards and 200 yards, respectively, in leading the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl victories in 1999 and 2000 over UCLA and Stanford, respectively. Dayne won MVP honors in both Rose Bowls, becoming one of only four players to win two Rose Bowl MVPs (Washington's Bob Schloredt, Southern California's Charles White, and Texas' Vince Young are the others).

Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 over Joe Hamilton of Georgia Tech, and won numerous other awards throughout college, including Big Ten Conference player of the year in 2000 and All-American placement in 1996, 1998 and 1999. His No. 33 jersey was retired at Wisconsin following the 1999 season, and his name is one of two displayed on the Camp Randall Stadium façade (the name of Wisconsin's other Heisman winner, #35 Alan Ameche, is the other).

Dayne's career rushing total remains an NCAA record. Bowl games included, he amassed 7,125 yards, becoming the first player in NCAA history to total over 7,000 rushing yards. He shares the record for most 200-yard rushing games with Ricky Williams and Marcus Allen, with twelve. He also holds the Big Ten Conference rushing and total touchdowns record, with 71, and is one of five players in NCAA history to rush for over a thousand yards in each of his four seasons.

Pro career

Dayne was selected with the 11th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Dayne's first season was filled with promise as he teamed up with Tiki Barber in the backfield to create the tandem known as "Thunder and Lightning," due to the combination of Dayne's power and Barber's speed. This Giants team went on to appear in Super Bowl XXXV. Over the next few years, Dayne's carries slowly diminished, with head coach Jim Fassel growing increasingly upset with Dayne's lack of commitment to lose weight. Fassel also did not like Dayne's initial running style, that of a halfback, and instead tried to make him a goal line back. After Fassel was fired, Dayne received a second chance under new head coach Tom Coughlin and shed 40 lbs. Despite having a good 2004 preseason, Dayne was once again sidelined by Coughlin for unknown reasons. The Giants elected not to re-sign Dayne, and he later signed a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos for the 2005 season, where he showed signs of rejuvenation on Thanksgiving. Filling in for the injured Tatum Bell, he carved up the Dallas Cowboys defense for 98 yards and a touchdown. He was re-signed in the 2006 offseason and was named starter, but fell on the depth chart as the pre-season went on and was cut as part of a roster move on September 2, 2006. The Houston Texans claimed Dayne off waivers the following day [1]

Trivia

• Dayne was on the cover of NCAA Gamebreaker 2001.
• Dayne won the Fox Thanksgiving Turkey Trophy for his performance on Thanksgiving as a member of the Denver Broncos.