Wisconsin Offense Ferocious With ‘Great Dayne’

Countless recruiters took one jaw-dropping look at Ron Dayne and pleaded with the 5-foot-10, 262-pound dynamo to come wreck defensive lines, ravage linebackers and rake secondaries for them.

Just sign here, kid. And you can be our featured fullback.

But Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez was the only suitor who figured Dayne could and should be doing all those things with the football in his hands.

“Some schools wanted me as a fullback, some even wanted me as a linebacker,” Dayne said.

“I just want to be one of the great running backs.”

So, the man known as “Great Dayne” came to Madison.

On Sunday, he’ll be in the national spotlight when No. 24 Wisconsin plays No. 17 Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Despite not starting until the fifth game last year, Dayne wasted no time in establishing himself as one of the great ballcarriers in NCAA history - 2,109 rushing yards, 21 touchdowns and 21 school records as the Badgers went 8-5.

And everybody else wanted him to be a bruising fullback?

“Everybody wants a big, old thumper fullback: go in there, block linebackers and take out defensive ends and pass protect,” Alvarez said. “But we felt that he was a special athlete. The thing you could see right away was that when he got up a head of steam, he had tremendous vision, he was able to make cuts, he was able to run through people and still run away from people.

“And we felt that putting him deeper in the I-formation in our attack was just made for him.”

Was it ever.

Excluding his Copper Bowl totals, Dayne gained 1,863 yards last year to break Herschel Walker’s freshman mark of 1,616 yards set at Georgia in 1980.

Now, the most prolific freshman runner in college football hopes to become the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

Dayne, though, is rather reluctant to admit that. He’s a man of many yards but few words.

That’s OK by Alvarez.

“What he did last year speaks volumes,” Alvarez said. “He did it. It’s not potential.

“He ran through people. He ran around people. He outran people.”

Despite all the terrific talk and Heisman hype Dayne has received, “I think Ron would be the first person to tell you our season isn’t devoted to win Ron Dayne the Heisman Trophy,” Alvarez said. “Our season is devoted to winning games. Because of the nature of our offense, he’s going to have plenty of opportunities to excel.”