Ron Dayne Ronald Dayne ( born March 14 , 1978 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League ( NFL ) for eight seasons . Dayne played college football for the University of Wisconsin - Madison and set the major college record for career rushing yards . Dayne won the 1999 Heisman Trophy . He was a first round pick of the New York Giants in the 2000 NFL Draft , and also played professionally for the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans of the NFL . Early years . When Dayne was a child , his parents divorced , and he was sent to live with relatives . His 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 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 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 216 ' 11 " ( 66 . 12m ) . 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 , coach Barry Alvarez promised Dayne a tailback position and persuaded him to come to play for the University of Wisconsin . College career . He attended the University of Wisconsin , 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 . Not 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 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 finally broke the record in the final game of the 1999 season against 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 . , Dayne ' s 6 , 397 career yards still stand as the Division I - A career rushing record . 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 , garnering MVP honors . Dayne only gained 36 yards in the 1998 Outback Bowl loss against Georgia the next season , but bounced back the next two seasons with 246 yards and 200 yards , respectively , in the Badgers ' 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 player to do so . Bob Schloredt ( Washington / AAWU ) , Charles White ( USC / Pac - 10 ) were the first two , and Vince Young ( Texas / Big 12 ) has subsequently accomplished this feat . Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 as well as other awards throughout college , including 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 . Dayne ' s career rushing total remains an NCAA record . When yardage from bowl games is included , ( under the current NCAA rules , a running back attempting to break Dayne ' s record would play twelve games each season and be allowed to count yards gained in any conference championship games or any bowl game in the official totals ) he amassed 7 , 125 yards . He shares the record for most 200 - yard rushing games with Ricky Williams and Marcus Allen , with twelve . He is one of five players in NCAA history to rush for over a thousand yards in each of his four seasons . For his contribution to the Rose Bowl game , he was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame on December 31 , 2011 . In 2013 , Dayne was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Professional career . Dayne was selected with the 11th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New York Giants . Dayne ' s first season started well as 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 . Over the next few years , Dayne ' s carries slowly diminished , with head coach Jim Fassel growing increasingly disappointed with Dayne ' s lack of commitment to lose weight . Fassel also did not like Dayne ' s halfback running style , and tried to make him a goal line back . After Fassel was fired , Dayne received a second chance under new head coach Tom Coughlin and shed 40 lbs . Despite having a good 2004 preseason , Dayne saw minimal playing time during the 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 , where he showed signs of rejuvenation on Thanksgiving , winning the CBS Thanksgiving All - Iron Award for his performance . Filling in for the injured Tatum Bell , he gained 98 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys . 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 on September 2 , 2006 . The Houston Texans claimed Dayne off waivers the following day . As a Texan , Dayne 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 for the injured Ahman Green , he gained more yards per game as the season progressed . Dayne did not play in the NFL after the 2007 season . He resides in Waunakee , Wisconsin . NFL stats . Receiving Stats Receiving Stats