Ron Dayne - Early Years

Early Years

Dayne was born in Berlin Township, New Jersey. 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.