Player To Watch

When G.M. Ernie Accorsi began scouting running backs last fall, he thought Wisconsin's record-breaking Ron Dayne was a masher in the Jerome Bettis mold. "But the more I watched him," Accorsi says, "the more I saw a guy who could make people miss. He had an ability to elude, not just the lower-body power that a Larry Csonka had." Dayne showed that ability during the early days of camp, leading coaches to think they might be able to run him around the corner as well as between the tackles. "Wherever they want me to run is fine with me—as long as I get the ball," says Dayne. He's a mild-mannered sort who will likely never be a tabloid type in New York City: "I like to let people see what I can do before I talk much."