Twenty years ago, the game of College Football changed. Nobody had witnessed a RB that took over games with the skill set and determination to win, since Barry Sanders saddled up at Oklahoma State.
Ron Dayne busted on the scene at The University of Wisconsin in 1996 with concerns from critics. The 5”10’ 270 pound RB out of Pine Hill Overbrook in New Jersey, was thought to be too short and slow to make it at a D-I school. Those critics quickly became quiet.
In his first year with the Badgers, Dayne rushed for 2,109 yards and 21 TDs in 13 games. Yes you read that right. You’d expect numbers like that from a seasoned veteran, not a freshman. The 2,109 yards ranked sixth all time (At the time) for yards in a single season for running backs.
From there on, Dayne kept trucking and provided most of the offense for Wisconsin. He was nationally recognized and one of the best RBs in college football. Dayne earned nicknames such as “The Dayne Train” and “Great Dayne”.
Between his sophomore and junior year, Dayne’s numbers were good, but fell off in terms of his freshman year. The ground and pound RB combined for 2,982 yards rushing and 30 TDs in 30 games.
His most impressive year by far, was his senior season. The Dayne Train ran for 2,034 yards and 20 TDs. In the 12 games he played, Dayne had over 200 yards rushing in five of those games.
To go along with his impressive senior year, Ron Dayne won the Heisman Trophy, amongst many other honors and awards, and single handily helped Wisconsin defeat Stanford in the Rose Bowl. The senior back carried the rock 34 times for 200 yards and one TD.
The “Great Dayne” finished his college career with the most rushing yards in college football history with 7,125 yards to go along with 71 TDs. Things were at an all-time high for the Wisconsin RB, but it quickly went downhill.
In the 2000 NFL Draft, Ron Dayne was drafted by the New York Giants with the 11th pick. Some questioned the pick by the Giants because three years prior, New York used a second round pick on Tiki Barber. General Manager Ernie Accorsi wanted a duo in the backfield that would be able to wear down defenses with speed and power. That duo would be called “Thunder and Lightning”
The nickname for the two backs was furthest from the truth. Not because of Barber, but because of Dayne. Yeah, the former badger was hard to bring down and brought the boom on some plays, but he never lived up to his hype coming out of college.
In his rookie year, the then 280 pound back rushed for a smidge under 800 yards and five scores. This unfortunately, would only be his second best season.
Over the next six years, for three different teams, Dayne combined for 755 carries, 2,952 rushing yards, and 23 TDs. That’s an average of 3.9 ypc. Many wondered why Dayne didn’t succeed, in what seemed to be a promising career coming out of college.
Some “experts” say the signs were there when he came out of college. Many thought Wisconsin played a cupcake out of conference schedule, and only had a handful of meaningful games even playing in the Big 10.
While it is true about Wisconsin’s cupcake schedule (played teams like Nevada-Las Vegas and San Diego St multiple times), it’s false about meaningful games they played. In 48 career games played, Dayne faced 21 teams that finished the season with four wins or less. On the other side, Dayne faced ranked opponents 15 times in his career.
I was unable to get game by game stats for his freshman year, but from 1997-1999, these were number 33s stats:
14 games against 4 or less win teams: 386 carries, 2,257 yards, 25 TDs, 5.8 ypc
12 games against ranked opponents: 295 carries, 1,555 yards, 15 TDs, 5.3 ypc
As you can see, his numbers weren’t too far off. Yeah they dipped a little while going against tougher opponents, but those numbers are still good.
While he was in the NFL, his biggest knock was his weight, which could another reason he did not succeed. The Giants brass wanted Dayne to get in better shape, but that didn’t happen until the 2004 offseason when the Giants fired Jim Fassel and hired Tom Coughlin. After working out and trying to get his weight under control, Dayne lost 40 pounds and many thought his career would be reborn. Once again, that was the farthest from the truth.
After the 2004 season was over, New York didn’t resign the former badger. Over the next three years, Dayne would get shots with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, but nothing panned out to be successful.
Ron Dayne fell to the wayside as far as an NFL career is concerned. He became like a lot of great college football players that couldn’t make the jump to the big leagues. Was it his style of running that prohibited him from being successful? Dayne ran like Jerome Bettis who was still dominating the game, elusive backs like Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk were starting to take the over.
Or was it that Dayne was used to playing behind a big offensive line, and the game evened out once he hit the NFL? One thing is for sure, this was a promising career that never blossomed.
