And while Ron Dayne doesn't exactly command the hype of say, Reggie Bush, he's excited that his next chance in the NFL means a reunion with Gary Kubiak, Dayne's offensive co-ordinator when the two were in Denver.

Of course, now that Kubiak is running the show in Houston, their friendly relationship might be a little different.

``He's down to earth. Real calm and a great guy,'' Dayne said Tuesday, the first day he practiced with the Texans. ``I like him more as a friend, too. That's kind of how I looked at him in Denver. He was the offensive co-ordinator, so we always tried to make jokes and mess with him. Now that he's the head coach, it might be a little tougher.''

Not too much was tough for Dayne when he practiced Tuesday afternoon with the Texans, whose offence had a familiar feel for the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner from Wisconsin.

``It's probably the best situation I could have been in,'' Dayne said. ``Being able to come to a place where I know the offence.''

Kubiak was eager to work with Dayne again after he was released by the Broncos. Though the coach has said rookie Wali Lundy will start in the opener Sunday against Philadelphia, Dayne did take some snaps with the first team in practice Tuesday.

``Ronny is just what I knew he was,'' Kubiak said. ``He jumped into the huddle today, made no mistakes and knows exactly what we're doing.''

Dayne adds experience to Houston's young running back duo of Lundy and second-year player Vernand Morency. And at 5-foot-10 and 245 pounds, he's also about 30 pounds heavier than both, making him potentially valuable in short-yardage situations.

The Texans added Dayne after Domanick Davis, the team's leading rusher the last three years, went on injured reserve, ending his season. Davis missed all but two days of training camp with a sore knee.

Dayne entered Denver's training camp as the starting tailback but was sidelined with turf toe, then passed up by undrafted rookie Mike Bell. Dayne, a seven-year veteran, had just five carries for 12 yards in the pre-season.

Dayne said he's ``almost there'' in his recovery from the injury.

The 28-year-old Dayne, who left Wisconsin as the NCAA's all-time leading rusher, has 2,337 career rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in the NFL. Despite being released by the Broncos, Dayne doesn't feel like he's under a lot of pressure from Kubiak in Houston.

``I always go out and play when I get a chance and do my best,'' he said. ``I don't really feel like I have to prove anything to anybody. He picked me up and brought me in here, so he knows what I can do.''

Dayne had 53 carries for 270 yards in 10 games for Denver last season in Kubiak's offence. The two have maintained a good relationship since.

After underachieving for five years in New York before his one season in Denver, it's hard to know what to expect from Dayne. But he calls coming to Houston a ``great opportunity.''

``I'm glad to be able to get on a team that's rebuilding and
trying to get on that right track,'' he said. ``I'm happy to be
here.''