Virginia
Ron Dayne, Wisconsin Badgers
Though he’s often mistakenly labeled as a New Jersey native, Ron Dayne was born in Blacksburg, Virginia. Dayne attended high school in Pine Hill, New Jersey, where Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez found the 250-plus pound running back and convinced him he’d have a chance to compete for carries with the Badgers. Not only did Dayne earn the right to play tailback instead of fullback, as most college coaches recruited him to do, he blossomed into arguably the greatest running back in college football history.
In four seasons at Wisconsin, Dayne gained 7,125 rushing yards (including bowl games) – an average of 151.6 yards per contest. He also scored 71 rushing touchdowns. After his 1999 Heisman Trophy-winning season, Dayne’s official career rushing total ended at 6,397 yards, which broke the record Ricky Williams set the previous year. That mark has since been broken by San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey.
Dayne was an immediate star at Wisconsin. As a true freshman he ran for 2,109 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns – both of which would remain career highs. Though he only ranked second nationally that year, at the time only four FBS players had accumulated more rushing yardage in a single season. Dayne’s 1996 campaign still ranks No. 14 on the all-time list.
Dayne’s production dipped slightly to 1,457 rushing yards and 15 TDs as a sophomore, and he followed with a Big Ten Conference best 1,525 rushing yards and 15 more scores as a junior. Both seasons were very good, but the 2,000-plus performance as a true freshman skewed the expectations for the mammoth running back.
As a senior in 1999, Dayne not only beat Williams’ official Division I record, he also passed Tony Dorsett’s unofficial mark after amassing another 2,000-yard season as a senior. Given the propensity for running backs to leave early for the NFL Draft today, Dayne’s four-year rushing total might never be broken.