No one longing to live without pain would want to lay a hit on Ron Dayne, Wisconsin tailback and Heisman Trophy hopeful, a round mound who somehow rolls effortlessly across the ground. His center of gravity seems to be somewhere around his shoelaces, which is where, in fact, most would-be tacklers end up as Dayne chugs by.
Dayne, a 5-foot-10, 261-pound mass of muscle who can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, is somewhat of a physical phenomenon as he begins his sophomore year as the NCAA's top returning rusher. Of the NCAA freshman-record 2,109 yards he gained in 13 games last season, 1,066 came after a defender had made contact.
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Dayne is "the best football player in the country," Wisconsin running backs coach Brian White said. "He can simply do things other guys can't. When he's moving, he's awfully hard to stop."
If it weren't for Tennessee senior quarterback Peyton Manning - to whom the Heisman has already been ceded in some circles - Dayne might be the favorite, even though he opened the season with a disappointing performance. In the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 24, he ran for 46 yards on 13 carries in a 34-0 loss to Syracuse, sputtering behind a weak offensive line while a fellow Heisman hopeful, Syracuse junior quarterback Donovan McNabb, shined.
But memories of last season still burn brightly. Dayne racked up records like statistics then, setting 24 at Wisconsin, five nationally and four in the Big Ten. In addition to topping the rushing mark that once belonged to Herschel Walker, Dayne scored 21 touchdowns, also an NCAA record for a freshman.
He did it with typical speed for a tailback but with a strength greater than some of the men trying to stop him. He can bench-press more than 350 pounds, power clean more than 325 and back squat more than 600. He's a pound heavier than Ohio State sophomore linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer, with whom he shared last year's Big Ten freshman of the year honors and might challenge next year the NFL's rule against freshmen and sophomores entering the draft.
He did it when most schools never thought he could make it as a tailback. Dayne would not consider programs like Penn State and Ohio State because of their desire to make him a fullback, so he went to Wisconsin with something to prove. Some saw the raw power he displayed in the backfield at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, N.J., and wanted to make him a linebacker.
And he did it without starting until the Badgers' fifth game.
"When you watch what he did last year, you realize what special gifts this young man has," Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said. "He's so unique, it draws attention. He basically carried our football team last year."
Against Minnesota midway through the season, the Badgers' fortunes rested with Dayne. They had lost four of their previous five games. The bowl picture was bleak. And then, a rare thing happened. He spoke. "Don't be afraid of running me out today," Dayne said.
And so the coaches weren't. Dayne had 19 carries after one quarter, 30 by the half. Dayne right. Dayne left. Dayne up the middle. Dayne everywhere.
"You tired yet?" White asked him.
"Nope. Give me the ball."
"We will."
Dayne ended up with 50 carries for 297 yards, three touchdowns and a thoroughly bolstered reputation. The week before against Purdue, Dayne had carried the ball 30 times for 244 yards and two touchdowns, and two weeks later, Dayne had 41 carries against Illinois for 289 yards and four touchdowns. "You just wipe the blood off your nose and go after him the next time," former Minnesota Coach Jim Wacker said.
Dayne deflects praise to his offensive line, which was dominant enough last season to send four of its members to NFL training camps. "When I see holes, I run through them," Dayne often says. Dayne gave each man a shirt that read: "O-line, My Kind of People, My Kind of Guys."
The more he is promoted, the less he seems to speak. Wisconsin has distributed thousands of posters featuring Dayne, who could become the first sophomore to win the Heisman and the first Badger to win it since Alan Ameche in 1954. Thus, there he is on glossy paper, surrounded by a group of dogs, larger than life (a seemingly impossible feat), labeled as "Wisconsin's Great Dayne."
"To do my best [and] win a lot of games, that's my goal," Dayne said. "I know you have to win before you can think about any awards."
Even the sexiest of spotlights didn't loosen Dayne's tongue earlier this year. Playboy Magazine brought together its preseason All-America team at a Pheonix resort, and Dayne roomed next to - who else? - Manning. The two hit it off, enjoying each other's company so much, they traded phone numbers as they departed and pledged to keep in touch.
Problem was, Dayne had no phone during the offseason in Madison, where he spent nearly his entire summer training. Didn't want it. Though he likes Manning and loved the trip, gabbing and talking afterward would have been distractions, he said.
But Dayne's lack of loquaciousness has been mistaken for shyness. Much like on the field, on which his coaches said he made just nine mental errors last season, Dayne sorts out the situation before opening up. It even took him about a month to warm up to Alvarez.
Every day now, Dayne walks to Alvarez's office, past what he says is "just a big trophy," Ameche's Heisman. Alvarez said he has a "special bond" with Dayne. "I'm kind of partial to great players," Alvarez laughed. But Alvarez has taken an almost paternal role with Dayne, which has been valuable in the face of the Heisman hype.
Dayne isn't likely to repeat his statistical performance of last season. The center of his offensive line now consists of three redshirt freshmen, and White expects him to face eight- and nine-man lines designed to stop him - every week. Alvarez will rely more heavily on the passing game, so gone are the days when Dayne, as he did last season, would have five 100-yard quarters and outrush eight opposing teams.
Some players would grumble, but the way Dayne "handles everything shows he's a very, very special young man," Alvarez said. "He's very humble. Some kids might have a hard time, but he seems to roll right along unfazed."
Kind of like he runs.