- Ron Dayne
Infobox NFLactive
currentteam=Free Agent
|width=
caption=
country=USA
currentnumber=--
currentposition=Running back
birthdate=birth date and age|1978|3|14
birthplace=Berlin Township, New Jersey
heightft=5
heightin=10
weight=245
debutyear=2000
debutteam=New York Giants
highlights=
* 1999Heisman Trophy
* 1999Maxwell Award
* 2005All-Iron Award
college=Wisconsin
draftyear=2000
draftround=1
draftpick=11
pastteams=
*New York Giants (2000-2004)
*Denver Broncos (2005)
*Houston Texans (2006-2007)
nfl=DAY718106Ron Dayne (born
March 14 ,1978 inBerlin Township, New Jersey ) is an American footballrunning back who is currently a free agent, most recently of theHouston Texans of the NFL. He is best known for holding the NCAA record for career rushing yards, winning theHeisman Trophy and a memorable performance against theDallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in 2005 as a member of Denver Broncos.High school career
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. He also excelled at Track & Field. In 1995 he won the NJ Meet of Champions, setting a new meet record in the Discus. In 1996 he won state titles in both the Shot Put and Discus, breaking both meet records (although both of those have since been broken again). He also won the NJ Meet of Champions in both events breaking his own meet record in the discus. He has the #5 distance ever thrown in the Discus by a US High Schooler at 216' 11" (66.12m). [ [http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=28762 Ron Dayne player profile] ,National Football League Players Association . AccessedJuly 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."]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,Barry Alvarez promised Dayne a tailback position and persuaded him to come to theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison .College 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 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 1998Outback 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 overUCLA and Stanford, respectively. Dayne won MVP honors in both Rose Bowls, becoming one of only four players to win two Rose Bowl MVPs (Washington'sBob Schloredt , Southern California'sCharles White , and Texas'Vince Young are the others).Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 as well as 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 name and number is one of six displayed on theCamp Randall Stadium façade. Dayne's number was officially retired during the Nov. 10, 2007 game against Michigan.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 andMarcus Allen , with twelve. He also holds theBig 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 theNew York Giants . Dayne's first season was filled with promise as he teamed up withTiki 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 inSuper Bowl XXXV . Over the next few years, Dayne's carries slowly diminished, with head coachJim 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 coachTom Coughlin and shed 40 lbs. Despite having a good 2004 preseason, Dayne was once again sidelined by Coughlin for unknown reasons. Some critics have speculated it was due to his inability to break tackles. Others say he wasn't breaking long runs like he did in college. The Giants elected not to re-sign Dayne, and he later signed a one-year deal with theDenver Broncos for the 2005 season, where he showed signs of rejuvenation onThanksgiving , winning the CBS ThanksgivingAll-Iron Award for his performance. Filling in for the injuredTatum Bell , he carved up theDallas 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 onSeptember 2 ,2006 . TheHouston Texans claimed Dayne off waivers the following day. [http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4283422]As a Texan, Dayne enjoyed a resurgence of sorts, having 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 as the starter for the injuredAhman Green , he gained more yards per game as the season progressed.Dayne was released in the off-season. He is in contact with a few teams, and has visited the
Tennessee Titans , but Dayne still has yet to receive a contract offer.ee also
*
History of the New York Giants (1994-present) References
http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=Nfl&id=983
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.