Two of the top five rushers in Iowa State history died in unrelated episodes May 11.

Ennis Haywood played for the Cyclones from 1998 to 2001 and ranks fifth on the career rushing list. Haywood died in Arlington, Texas, after a brief hospitalization. An autopsy performed May 12 was inconclusive. Linda Anderson, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman, said toxicology and tissue tests should reveal the cause of Haywood’s death when they are completed within the next two months. Haywood was a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He was 23 years old.

Dexter Green played from 1975-1978 and is the third—ranked rusher in Cyclone history. Green died at home in Columbus, Ohio, after an 18-month battle with stomach cancer. He was 46 years old.

Cyclone back was committed to family, teammates

Former ISU running back Ennis Haywood was faced with a difficult decision late in his senior season at Carter High School in Dallas.

“He came back from his official visit to Iowa State and said he really liked it there,” said Bruce Chambers, Haywood’s coach at Carter.

“I said, ‘Good … What you need to do is call [ISU assistant coach Tony] Alford, and tell him you’re coming.'”

Later in the year, though, Chambers was hired as the running back’s coach at the University of Texas at Austin — much closer to Dallas than Iowa State.

“Ennis came to me and said, ‘Coach, what am I supposed to do? You’re my coach,'” Chambers said.

“I said, ‘Ennis, you told Iowa State that you’re coming; a man’s word is his bond.'”

Haywood kept his commitment to Iowa State, where from 1998 to 2001 he became the fifth-leading rusher in Cyclone history and led Iowa State to back-to-back bowl games in 2000 and 2001 — Iowa State’s first postseason appearances since Dexter Green helped take the Cyclones to the Peach and Hall of Fame Bowls in 1977 and 1978.

“That says a lot about his character,” Chambers said. “I lived to regret it [when Texas played Iowa State].”

Haywood scored two touchdowns in a wild 44—41 loss to Texas at Jack Trice Stadium in 1999.

Chambers said Haywood was pushed out of bounds on the Texas sideline several times in that game, where he eventually found his high school coach.

“He shouted, ‘Coach, how am I doing?'”

“I threw up my shoulders and said, ‘You’re doing fine, son.'”

Chambers said Haywood affected his life as a “great person” as much as he did as a player.

“He had this great smile; it was an intoxicating smile, it just engulfed you,” he said.

“He always wanted to please his coach, always wanted to improve.”

Tony Alford, assistant head football coach, works with Iowa State’s running backs and recruited Haywood to Ames. “If he told you something, you could almost take it to the bank,” Alford said.

Alford said Haywood fumbled the ball but recovered at a critical point in Iowa State’s 24-0 victory over UNLV in 1999, and Darren Davis replaced him at running back. Haywood then asked Alford why he was back on the sideline. Alford said he told Haywood it was because of his fumble.

“[Haywood] said, ‘OK, I’ll never fumble again,'” Alford said. Haywood never did fumble after that game in his last 31 games as a Cyclone.

“That’s almost unheard of,” said ISU football coach Dan McCarney.

Teammates said Haywood was a deserving captain and led the football team with his play and with his words. “When I first came here as a freshman, he made [me] feel welcome,” said senior cornerback Harold Clewis.

Clewis said Haywood was always honest with his teammates. “He would tell us if we were doing good or if we needed to pick it up,” he said.

Matt Grosserode, a fullback who played with Haywood in 2000 and 2001, said Haywood was the leader of the Cyclone running backs.

“On and off the field, he made sure that we were taken care of,” he said.

Alford said what impressed him most about Haywood was his maturation from the boy he met at Carter High School to the husband, father, and team leader he became at Iowa State.

“Me and my wife [Trina] both, we took a lot from knowing Ennis Haywood,” Alford said.

“He put things in order.” Haywood’s three-year-old daughter Ennicia, wife Crystal, and mother Carol were at the top of that list, he said.

“Everything else came after that.”

Alford said he has been close to the Haywood family since he began recruiting Ennis. He said he thought Ennis’s commitment and strength came in part from his mother. “Carol is as strong an individual as I have ever met, and I have always said that about her,” he said.

Carol Haywood said she made a long journey up Interstate 35 nearly every fall weekend for four years to see Ennis play in person, missing only two games in Colorado and one game because of bad weather.

“I’ve got so many memories about him,” she said. “He was truly a gift from God to me.”

Haywood said Saturday’s memorial service for her son was something she will remember for a long time.

Iowa State coach Dan McCarney, Chambers, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, current Cowboy safety Darren Woodson and former Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith all spoke at the service, she said.

Former coach: Green was at his best against the best opponents

By Lucas Grundmeier

Daily Staff Writer

October 8, 1977 began as a typical football Saturday for ISU running back Dexter Green.

The Cyclones were hosting Missouri at Cyclone Stadium that afternoon, and the Tigers would be looking for revenge after Iowa State had beaten Missouri, then ranked seventh in the country, in Columbia the year before.

Green scored the only touchdown in a 7—0 victory on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter, moving the Cyclones’ record to 4—1.

What happened after the game, though, would change Green’s life.

“I was visiting my aunt and uncle in Ames,” said Betty Green, Dexter’s wife. “And I met [Dexter] that evening at Reflections.”

Dexter and Betty wed a year later in Ames.

“Dexter never met a stranger – he always had a kind word to say,” Betty Green said. “He was always giving of himself in some way, in some type of outreach program.

“[Dexter] has never been really a boastful person — some of the things he did I’m still finding out about.”

Green’s teammates and coach at Iowa State agree.

“He ran the ball well for great yardage against [the] big powers in the Big Eight,” said former Cyclone football coach Earle Bruce. “He was good all the time, but when it came to the big game, he gave a little extra.”

Green was instrumental in Iowa State’s back-to-back wins over Nebraska in 1976 and 1977 — two of just four wins over the Huskers since 1961.

Defensive tackle Mike Stensrud said that after coming off the field, he and other members of the Cyclone defense would take a quick break before watching the offense operate.

“The thing that I remember about Dexter … when he got in the open, and he took off, no one could catch him,” he said.

Stensrud’s partner on the defensive line and on the All-Big Eight first team, Tom Randall, said Green succeeded despite being one of the smaller running backs in the conference.

“I always thought he was an over-achiever kind of guy,” Randall said. “[But] he had a lot of heart. And that was indicative of a lot of guys who played on that team.”

Luther Blue, an All-American split end who graduated after Green’s sophomore season, said Iowa State’s 37—28 win over ninth-ranked Nebraska in 1976 was a result of Green’s brilliance.

“It was a cold day, and Dexter was limping,” Blue said. “But he had a remarkable day.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate.”

Teammates and friends remember an infectious smile that never left Green’s face.

“It was a joy to be around him,” said former ISU quarterback Terry Rubley. “He loved to have fun, but he was a very hard-working individual. At many of our practices, he would set the standard for the rest of us.”

Rubley said Green’s attitude could change a game for the Cyclones or a tough situation for his friends.

“He was always in a good mood, always smiling,” he said. “When it got tough, he really was the one that got us moving in the right direction.”

Green was well-liked during his career at Iowa State, just as he was in his the Woodbridge, N.C. area where he grew up.

“Iowa State’s coach [Bruce] saw Dexter for what he was,” said Rossie Alston Jr., who graduated with Green from Gar-Field Senior High School in 1975. “He had so much heart, he didn’t need to have great physical attributes.”

Alston said he thought one of Green’s greatest accomplishments at Iowa State was his degree in Industrial Education.

“One of the things he was most proud of was that he got into a big school and finished his work,” Alston said.

“Everybody loved Dexter. He was voted ‘Mr. Gar-Field,’ the best senior superlative. No one was more deserving than Dexter.”

Jim Artz, Green’s position coach at Gar-Field, agreed.

“I don’t know if there was anyone who didn’t like Dexter,” he said. “I don’t recall him ever complaining.”

Artz said he was glad to get a chance to see Green play for Iowa State in the 1977 Peach Bowl against North Carolina State. Green ran for 172 yards in a 24-14 Iowa State loss.

Betty Green said Dexter had worked as a teacher, coach, and pastor in Columbus, Ohio for the last 20 years. He had been ill with stomach cancer for about 18 months, she said.

Green’s last visit to Ames came in 2000 when he was inducted into the ISU Athletic Hall of Fame with Bruce and Stensrud.

He is survived by his wife Betty, his daughter Sabrina, 20, and son Dexter Jr., 13.

Betty Green said Dexter Jr. has a score to settle with Troy Davis and Darren Davis, ISU running backs in the late 90’s who pushed Green to third on Iowa State’s career rushing chart.

“Dex? That’s his main issue right now. He’s going to break all [the Davis] records, since they broke all of Dexter’s records,” Green said.