Ron Dayne

Ron Dayne

refer to caption

Dayne in 2010
No. 27, 33, 36
Position: Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1978-03-14) March 14, 1978
Place of birth: Blacksburg, Virginia
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school: Pine Hill (NJ) Overbrook
College: Wisconsin
NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards: 3,722
Rushing average: 3.8
Rushing touchdowns: 28
Receiving yards: 340
Receiving average: 6.0
Receiving touchdowns: 0
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the University of Wisconsin, set the major college record for career rushing yards, and won the 1999 Heisman Trophy. He was a first round pick of the New York Giants in the 2000 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans of the NFL.

Early years

When Dayne was a child, his parents divorced, and he was sent to live with relatives.[1] His athleticism and speed made him a star running back at Overbrook High School in his hometown of Pine Hill, New Jersey, and he was heavily recruited by many colleges.[2] He also excelled at track and field. In 1995 he won the New Jersey Meet of Champions, setting a new meet record in the discus throw. In 1996 he won state titles in both the shot put and discus, breaking both meet records won the Meet of Champions in both events and breaking his own meet record in the discus. He has the fifth-best distance ever thrown in the discus by a U.S. high school athlete at 216 feet, 11 inches (66.12m).[3]

His football 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, coach Barry Alvarez promised Dayne a tailback position and persuaded him to come to play for the University of Wisconsin.

College career

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played for the Wisconsin Badgers football team from 1996 to 1999. Known as the "Great Dayne" and "The Dayne Train" throughout college, Dayne was the starting running back all four years at Wisconsin. Not 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 set the NCAA Division I-A 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 (which does not include yardage from the four bowl games he played in), eclipsing the record set the previous year by Ricky Williams of Texas.

Dayne excelled in three bowl games for 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 the Badgers' 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl wins. Dayne won MVP honors in both games, becoming only the third player in the history of the Rose Bowl to repeat as MVP — and the first and still only Big Ten player to do so. Bob Schloredt (Washington/AAWU), Charles White (USC/Pac-10) were the first two, and Vince Young (Texas/Big 12) has subsequently accomplished this feat.

Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 as well as other awards throughout college, including Big Ten Player of the Year for 1999 and All-American placement in 1996, 1998 and 1999. His name and number is one of six displayed on the Camp Randall Stadium façade. Dayne's #33 was officially retired during the November 10, 2007, game against Michigan.[4]

As of 2015, Dayne's 6,397 career yards still stands as the Division I-A (now FBS) career rushing record.[5] When yardage from bowl games is included (under the current NCAA rules, a running back attempting to break Dayne's record would play twelve games each season and be allowed to count yards gained in any conference championship games or any bowl game in the official totals), he amassed 7,125 yards. He shares the record for most 200-yard rushing games with Ricky Williams and Marcus Allen, with twelve. He is one of only eight players in NCAA history to rush for over a thousand yards in each of his four seasons.[6]

Dayne was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Athletic Hall Of Fame as part of the 2009 class alongside fellow NFL player Joe Panos and MLB pitcher Thornton Kipper.[7] For his contribution to the Rose Bowl game, he was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 31, 2011.[8] In 2013, Dayne was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

College statistics

Source:[9]

Rushing statistics Receiving statistics
Year Team G Att Yards Avg TD Rec Yards Avg TD
1996* Wisconsin 13 325 2,109 6.5 21 14 133 9.5 0
1997* Wisconsin 13 263 1,457 5.5 15 10 117 11.7 0
1998* Wisconsin 12 295 1,525 5.2 15 6 45 7.5 0
1999 Wisconsin 12 337 2,034 6.0 20 1 9 9.0 0
College Totals 50 1,220 7,125 5.8 71 31 304 9.8 0

* Bowl statistics included

Professional career

Dayne receives a handoff from Matt Schaub in 2007

Dayne was selected with the 11th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Dayne's first season started well as he teamed up with Tiki Barber in the backfield to create the tandem known as "Thunder and Lightning," a combination of Dayne's power and Barber's speed. The Giants went on to play in Super Bowl XXXV. Over the next few years, Dayne's carries slowly diminished, with head coach Jim Fassel growing increasingly disappointed with Dayne's lack of commitment to lose weight. Fassel also did not like Dayne's halfback running style, and tried to make him a goal line back. After Fassel was fired, Dayne shed 40  pounds and received a second chance under new head coach Tom Coughlin. Despite having a good 2004 preseason, Dayne saw minimal playing time during the regular season. The Giants did not attempt 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, winning the CBS Thanksgiving All-Iron Award for his performance. Filling in for the injured Tatum Bell, he gained 98 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys. 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.[10]

As a Texan, Dayne rushed for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns in December 2006, including two scores in an upset victory over the division rival Indianapolis Colts. In 2007 filling in for the injured Ahman Green, he gained more yards per game as the season progressed. Dayne did not play in the NFL after the 2007 season. He resides in Waunakee, Wisconsin.

NFL stats

Rushing Stats[11]

Year Team Games Carries Yards Yards per Carry Longest Carry Touchdowns First Downs Fumbles Fumbles Lost
2000 NYG 16 228 770 3.4 50 5 47 1 1
2001 NYG 16 180 690 3.8 61 7 38 2 1
2002 NYG 16 125 428 3.4 30 3 26 1 1
2004 NYG 14 52 179 3.4 15 1 10 0 0
2005 DEN 10 53 270 5.1 55 1 14 0 0
2006 HOU 11 151 612 4.1 19 5 39 1 0
2007 HOU 13 194 773 4.0 39 6 43 1 0
Career 96 983 3,722 3.8 61 28 217 6 3

Receiving Stats[11]

Year Team Games Receptions Targets Yards Yards per Receptions Longest Reception Touchdowns First Downs Fumbles Fumbles Lost
2000 NYG 16 3 - 11 3.7 12 0 1 0 0
2001 NYG 16 8 - 67 8.4 21 0 1 0 0
2002 NYG 16 11 - 49 4.5 8 0 1 0 0
2004 NYG 14 1 - 7 7.0 7 0 0 0 0
2005 DEN 10 3 - 17 5.7 7 0 0 1 1
2006 HOU 11 14 17 77 5.5 13 0 3 0 0
2007 HOU 13 17 24 112 6.6 17 0 4 0 0
Career 96 57 41 340 6.0 21 0 10 1 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ Latino and African American Athletes Today (2004). p. 75.
  2. ↑ Longman, Jere. "Penn State Overcomes Badgers' Mass", The New York Times, September 29, 1996. Accessed July 10, 2015. "Dayne grew up in Pine Hill, N.J., but showed the same indifference to Penn State's recruiting efforts as he did to its miserly defense."
  3. ↑ Ron Dayne player profile, National Football League Players Association. Accessed July 24, 2007. "Hometown: Berlin, NJ... Dayne was a consensus first-team All-America selection and SuperPrep’s Eastern Region Player of the Year at Overbrook High School in Berlin, N.J."
  4. ↑ "Dayne's Number to be Officially Retired". The Official Web Site of Wisconsin Athletics. Retrieved 2010-02-22.
  5. ↑ Individual and Team Collegiate Records
  6. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/leaders/records-player-rushing.html
  7. ↑ http://www.wkow.com/story/10928842/seven-to-be-inducted-into-wisconsin-athletic-hall-of-fame
  8. ↑ Ron Dayne, Dick Enberg and George Fleming to be Inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, Tournament of Roses Association, December 4, 2011
  9. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ron-dayne-1.html
  10. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4283422
  11. 1 2 "Ron Dayne Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
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