View source for Ron Dayne

{{Short description|American football player (born 1978)}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Ron Dayne
| image       = Ron Dayne 2010 (adjusted).jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Dayne in 2010
| number      = 27, 33, 36
| position    = [[Running back]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1978|3|14}}
| birth_place = [[Berlin, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| height_ft   = 5
| height_in   = 10
| weight_lb   = 245
| high_school = [[Overbrook High School (New Jersey)|Overbrook]] {{nowrap|([[Pine Hill, New Jersey]])}}
| college     = [[Wisconsin Badgers football|Wisconsin]] (1996–1999)
| draftyear   = 2000
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 11
| pastteams   =
* [[New York Giants]] ({{NFL Year|2000|2004}})
* [[Denver Broncos]]  ({{NFL Year|2005}})
* [[Houston Texans]]  ({{NFL Year|2006|2007}})
| highlights  =
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1999)
* [[Maxwell Award]] (1999)
* [[Walter Camp Award]] (1999)
* [[Chic Harley Award]] (1999)
* [[Doak Walker Award]] (1999)
* [[Touchdown Club of Columbus#Jim Brown Award|Jim Brown Award]] (1999)
* [[Associated Press College Football Player of the Year Award|AP College Football Player of the Year]] (1999)
* [[Sporting News College Football Player of the Year|''SN'' Player of the Year]] (1999)
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1999 College Football All-America Team|1999]])
* 2× First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1997 College Football All-America Team|1997]], [[1998 College Football All-America Team|1998]])
* Third-team All-American ([[1996 College Football All-America Team|1996]])
* [[Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year]] (2000)
* [[Big Ten Most Valuable Player]] (1999)
* [[Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year]] (1999)
* [[Big Ten Freshman of the Year|Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year]] (1996)
* 3× First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1996 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1996]], [[1998 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1998]], [[1999 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1999]])
* Second-team All-Big Ten ([[1997 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1997]])
* [[Wisconsin Badgers football#Retired numbers|Wisconsin Badgers No. 33]] retired
| statlabel1  = [[Carry (American football)|Rushing attempts]]
| statvalue1  = 983
| statlabel2  = [[Rushing yards]]
| statvalue2  = 3,722
| statlabel3  = [[Touchdown|Rushing touchdowns]]
| statvalue3  = 28
| statlabel4  = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue4  = 57
| statlabel5  = [[Receiving yards]]
| statvalue5  = 340
| pfr         = DaynRo00
| CollegeHOF  = 2342 
}}

'''Ronald Dayne''' (born March 14, 1978) is an American former [[American football|football]] [[running back]] who played [[college football]] for the [[Wisconsin Badgers football|Wisconsin Badgers]], winning the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1999. He also played professional football for eight seasons in the [[National Football League]] (NFL). He was selected by the [[New York Giants]] in the first round of the [[2000 NFL draft]]. He also played for the [[Denver Broncos]] and [[Houston Texans]].

Dayne is one of only two players in college football history to rush for 2,000-plus yards in a single season twice in his career, the other being [[Troy Davis (running back)|Troy Davis]] of Iowa State.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Dayne would be the [[NCAA Division I FBS rushing leaders|all-time rushing yards leader in NCAA Division I FBS]] history, with 7,125 yards with the bowl game statistics included, though the statistics accumulated in bowl games prior to 2002 are not accounted for by the NCAA. Thus, Dayne is officially recognized as the second-leading rusher behind [[Donnel Pumphrey]].

==Early life==
When Dayne was a child, his parents divorced, and he was sent to live with relatives.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0LSZX4z6WZAC ''Latino and African American Athletes Today''] (2004). p. 75.</ref> Due to a lack of reliable adult relatives, Dayne was forced to take on a parental role to his younger sister when he was just ten years old.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.profootballhistory.com/ron-dayne/|title=The Life And Career Of Ron Dayne (Complete Story)|first=Robert|last=Marvi|date=March 27, 2022|accessdate=December 14, 2023}}</ref> Raised in [[Berlin Township, New Jersey]],<ref>Stenzler, Jon. [http://articles.philly.com/1999-12-13/news/25480853_1_brenda-dayne-ron-dayne-gentle-giant "A Big Body, A Bigger Heart. Ron Dayne; Teddy Bear"] {{webarchive | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231085211/http://articles.philly.com/1999-12-13/news/25480853_1_brenda-dayne-ron-dayne-gentle-giant | date=December 31, 2013}}, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', December 13, 1999. Accessed December 30, 2013. "Dayne, who grew up in Berlin Township and carried the football for Overbrook Regional Senior High School in Pine Hill and for the University of Wisconsin, is known for a bruising running style."</ref> his athleticism and speed made him a star running back at [[Overbrook High School (New Jersey)|Overbrook High School]] in [[Pine Hill, New Jersey|Pine Hill]], where he was heavily recruited by many colleges.<ref>Longman, Jere. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/29/sports/penn-state-overcomes-badgers-mass.html "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."</ref> 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. He 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 {{Convert|216|ft|11|in}}.<ref>[http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=28762 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."</ref>

His football role was expected to change when he reached college. At {{Convert|270|lbs}} out of [[high school]], many felt that he was too big to be a [[Halfback (American football)|tailback]] and believed he would be best suited as a [[fullback (American football)|fullback]]. Eventually, coach [[Barry Alvarez]] promised Dayne a tailback position and persuaded him to attend Wisconsin.

==College career==
Dayne 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 and 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 broke the record in the final game of the 1999 season against [[Iowa Hawkeyes football|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 Longhorns football|Texas]]. The record has since been eclipsed by [[San Diego State Aztecs football|San Diego State]] back [[Donnel Pumphrey]].

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 Utes football|Utah]], garnering MVP honors.  Dayne only gained 36 yards in the [[1998 Outback Bowl]] loss against [[Georgia Bulldogs football|Georgia]] the next season, but bounced back the next two seasons with 246 yards and 200 yards, respectively, in the Badgers' [[1999 Rose Bowl|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 Conference|Big Ten]] player to do so.  [[Bob Schloredt]] ([[Washington Huskies football|Washington]]/[[AAWU]]), [[Charles White (American football)|Charles White]] ([[USC Trojans football|USC]]/[[Pacific-10 Conference|Pac-10]]) were the first two, and [[Vince Young]] ([[Texas Longhorns football|Texas]]/[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]) has subsequently accomplished this feat.

[[File:1999 Heisman Trophy presented to Ron Dayne of Wisconsin (541488768861).jpg|thumb|The [[Heisman Trophy]] received by Dayne in 1999]]

Dayne won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1999 as well as other awards throughout college, including [[Silver Football|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 Wolverines football|Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102207aab.html|title=Dayne's Number to be Officially Retired|publisher=The Official Web Site of Wisconsin Athletics|access-date=February 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622022418/http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102207aab.html|archive-date=June 22, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Seven to be inducted into Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame |url=http://www.wkow.com/story/10928842/seven-to-be-inducted-into-wisconsin-athletic-hall-of-fame |website=wkow.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125213048/https://www.wkow.com/story/10928842/seven-to-be-inducted-into-wisconsin-athletic-hall-of-fame |archive-date=25 January 2016 |date=14 August 2009}}</ref> For his contribution to the Rose Bowl game, he was inducted into the [[Rose Bowl Hall of Fame]] on December 31, 2011.<ref>[http://tournamentofroses.com/TheRoseBowlGame/News.aspx Ron Dayne, Dick Enberg and George Fleming to be Inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205030530/http://www.tournamentofroses.com/TheRoseBowlGame/News.aspx |date=December 5, 2011 }}, Tournament of Roses Association, December 4, 2011</ref> In 2013, Dayne was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]].

===College statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Season
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="4"| Rushing
! colspan="4"| Receiving
|-
! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! TD
|-
! [[1996 NCAA Division I-A football season|1996]] !! [[1996 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]
| 13 || 325 || 2,109 || 6.5 || 21 || 14 || 133 || 9.5 || 0
|-
! [[1997 NCAA Division I-A football season|1997]] !! [[1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]
| 13 || 263 || 1,457 || 5.5 || 15 || 10 || 117 || 11.7 || 0
|-
! [[1998 NCAA Division I-A football season|1998]] !! [[1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]
| 12 || 295 || 1,525 || 5.2 || 15 || 6 || 45 || 7.5 || 0
|-
! [[1999 NCAA Division I-A football season|1999]] !! [[1999 Wisconsin Badgers football team|Wisconsin]]
| 12 || 337 || 2,034 || 6.0 || 20 || 1 || 9 || 9.0 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"|[https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ron-dayne-1.html Totals] || 50 || 1,220 || 7,125 || 5.8 || 71 || 31 || 304 || 9.8 || 0
|}

==Professional career==
{{NFL predraft
|    height ft = 5
|    height in = 10 7/8
|       weight = 259
|         dash = 4.65
|         note = All values from [[NFL Combine]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=444&DraftYear=2000 |title=Ron Dayne College Football Profile |website=DraftScout.com |access-date=January 25, 2025}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Schaub Hands off to Ron Dayne.jpg|thumb|right|Dayne receives a handoff from [[Matt Schaub]] in 2007]]
Dayne was selected in the first round with the 11th overall pick of the [[2000 NFL draft]] by the [[New York Giants]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2000/draft.htm |title=2000 NFL Draft Listing |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en |access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> In Dayne's first season 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200101280nyg.htm |title=Super Bowl XXXV - Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants - January 28th, 2001 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en |access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> Over the next few years, Dayne's carries slowly diminished, with head coach [[Jim Fassel]], with whom Dayne already had a contentious relationship, growing increasingly disappointed with Dayne's supposed lack of commitment to lose weight. Fassel reportedly also did not like Dayne's halfback running style, and tried to make him a goal line back. Dayne missed every game during the 2003 regular season due to injury, and the Giants refused to trade him.<ref>{{cite news |title=PRO FOOTBALL; Dayne Accepts Idleness And Fassel Reaffirms It (Published 2003) |work=The New York Times |date=December 3, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830125457/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/03/sports/pro-football-dayne-accepts-idleness-and-fassel-reaffirms-it.html |archive-date=2022-08-30 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/03/sports/pro-football-dayne-accepts-idleness-and-fassel-reaffirms-it.html |last1=Zinser |first1=Lynn }}</ref> After Fassel was fired,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/17/sports/football/fassel-dismissed-by-giants-as-he-expected.html |title=Fassel Dismissed by Giants, as He Expected |last=Pennington |first=Bill |date=2003-12-17 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US |access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> Dayne shed 40&nbsp;pounds and received a second chance under new head coach [[Tom Coughlin]]. Dayne saw minimal playing time during the 2004 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. He was re-signed in the 2006 offseason and named the starter, but fell on the depth chart as the pre-season went along and was cut on September 2, 2006. The [[Houston Texans]] claimed Dayne off waivers the following day.<ref>{{cite web | last=Williamson | first=Bill | title=Texans pick from leftovers | website=The Denver Post | date=2006-09-03 | url=https://www.denverpost.com/2006/09/03/texans-pick-from-leftovers/ | access-date=2025-05-11}}</ref>

As a member of the Houston Texans, Dayne rushed for 429 yards and five touchdowns in December 2006. In 2007, he filled in for the injured [[Ahman Green]]. Dayne did not play in the NFL after the 2007 season.

==NFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! rowspan="2"| GP
! colspan="6"| Rushing
! colspan="7"| Receiving
! colspan="2"| Fumbles
|-
! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FD !! Rec !! Tgt !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! FD !! Fum !! Lost
|-
! [[2000 NFL season|2000]] || [[2000 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 228 || 770 || 3.4 || 50 || 5 || 47 || 3 || — || 11 || 3.7 || 12 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[2001 NFL season|2001]] || [[2001 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 180 || 690 || 3.8 || 61 || 7 || 38 || 8 || — || 67 || 8.4 || 21 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 1
|-
! [[2002 NFL season|2002]] || [[2002 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 16 || 125 || 428 || 3.4 || 30 || 3 || 26 || 11 || — || 49 || 4.5 || 8 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[2003 NFL season|2003]] || [[2003 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 0 || colspan="15"| ''Did not play due to injury''
|-
! [[2004 NFL season|2004]] ||[[2004 New York Giants season|NYG]]
| 14 || 52 || 179 || 3.4 || 15 || 1 || 10 || 1 || — || 7 || 7.0 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[2005 NFL season|2005]] || [[2005 Denver Broncos season|DEN]]
| 10 || 53 || 270 || 5.1 || 55 || 1 || 14 || 3 || — || 17 || 5.7 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[2006 NFL season|2006]] || [[2006 Houston Texans season|HOU]]
| 11 || 151 || 612 || 4.1 || 19 || 5 || 39 || 14 || 17 || 77 || 5.5 || 13 || 0 || 3 || 1 || 0
|-
! [[2007 NFL season|2007]] || [[2007 Houston Texans season|HOU]]
| 13 || 194 || 773 || 4.0 || 39 || 6 || 43 || 17 || 24 || 112 || 6.6 || 17 || 0 || 4 || 1 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"|[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaynRo00.htm Career] || 96 || 983 || 3,722 || 3.8 || 61 || 28 || 217 || 57 || 41 || 340 || 6.0 || 21 || 0 || 10 || 7 || 4
|}

==See also==
[[File:Ron Dayne Texans 2006-09-24-1544359.jpg|thumb|upright|Dayne in 2006 with Houston]]
* [[History of the New York Giants (1994–present)]]
* [[List of NCAA Division I FBS running backs with at least 50 career rushing touchdowns]]
* [[List of college football yearly rushing leaders]]

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|2342}}
* {{Heisman|ron-dayne}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=ron-dayne |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |si= |pfr=D/DaynRo00 |rotoworld= }}

{{Giants2000DraftPicks}}
{{GiantsFirstPick}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Walter Camp Award}}
{{Maxwell Award Winners}}
{{AP Players of the Year}}
{{Sporting News College Football Player of the Year}}
{{Doak Walker Award winners}}
{{1999 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{2000 NFL Draft}}{{Big Ten Conference Football Player of the Year navbox}}{{Chicago Tribune Silver Football navbox}}
{{Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dayne, Ron}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Denver Broncos players]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Houston Texans players]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:New York Giants players]]
[[Category:Overbrook High School (New Jersey) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Berlin Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Camden County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Wisconsin Badgers football players]]
[[Category:Walter Camp Award winners]]
[[Category:Maxwell Award winners]]