Deuce Vaughn
{{Short description|American football player (born 2001)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Deuce Vaughn
| image = Deuce Vaughn.png
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Vaughn in 2021
| currentteam = Dallas Cowboys
| number = 42
| position = Running back
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2001|11|2}}
| birth_place = Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 6
| weight_lb = 176
| high_school = Cedar Ridge
(Round Rock, Texas)
| college = Kansas State (2020–2022)
| draftyear = 2023
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 212
| pastteams =
- Dallas Cowboys ({{NFL year|2023}}–present)
| status = Active
| highlights =
- Consensus All-American (2022)
- Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (2020)
- First-team All-Big 12 (2022)
- 3× Second-team All-Big 12 (2020, 2021)
| statweek =
| statseason = 2024
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 110
| statlabel2 = Rushing average
| statvalue2 = 2.8
| statlabel3 = Rushing touchdowns
| statvalue3 =
| statlabel4 = Receptions
| statvalue4 = 10
| statlabel5 = Receiving yards
| statvalue5 = 58
| statlabel6 = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue6 =
}}
Christopher "Deuce" Vaughn II (born November 2, 2001) is an American professional football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Early life
Vaughn moved frequently growing up due to his father's occupation as a college football coach before settling in Round Rock, Texas, and attended Cedar Ridge High School, where he played football and ran track.{{Cite web |last=Robinett |first=Kellis |date=October 15, 2020 |title=K-State Wildcats Football: Deuce Vaughn recruiting feature |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article246445440.html |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=The Wichita Eagle}}
As a junior, he collected 1,901 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 9 receptions, 159 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He received honorable-mention all-state honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association.
As a senior, Vaughn broke Cedar Ridge's single-season rushing record with 1,938 yards, while having 589 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns. He rushed for 375 yards against Round Rock High School and 302 yards with 5 touchdowns against Westwood High School.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Arne |date=September 10, 2020 |title=Former Cedar Ridge RB Deuce Vaughn turning heads at Kansas State |url=https://www.statesman.com/sports/20200910/former-cedar-ridge-rb-deuce-vaughn-turning-heads-at-kansas-state |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=Austin American-Statesman}} He received his second straight District 13-6A Offensive MVP award.
He finished his high school career with 4,405 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns, 914 receiving yards, 11 receiving touchdowns, 153 return yards and 5,472 all-purpose yards. Despite his size, Vaughn was a 3-star recruit who received multiple scholarship offers from programs like Air Force, Arkansas, Army, Kansas, Missouri, North Texas, South Florida, UTSA, and Wyoming, with preferred walk-on offers from Baylor, Oklahoma State, New Mexico, Texas Christian, and Virginia Tech.{{Cite web |title=Deuce Vaughn Recruit Interests |url=https://247sports.com/recruitment/deuce-vaughn-125170/recruitinterests/ |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=247sports.com}}
College career
=2020 season=
Vaughn accepted a football scholarship from Kansas State University. He entered his freshman season as one of the Wildcats' top running backs and became the team's starter over Harry Trotter early in the season.{{Cite web |last=Olson |first=Max |date=October 28, 2020 |title=The superpower of Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State's 5–5 phenom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2164884/2020/10/28/deuce-vaughn-kansas-state/ |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=The Athletic}} He had three games on the season going over 100 rushing yards: Texas Tech, Baylor, and Texas.{{Cite web |title=Texas Tech at Kansas State Box Score, October 3, 2020 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2020-10-03-kansas-state.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Kansas State at Baylor Box Score, November 28, 2020 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2020-11-28-baylor.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Texas at Kansas State Box Score, December 5, 2020 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2020-12-05-kansas-state.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} He recorded a 129-yard receiving game against Oklahoma.{{Cite web |title=Kansas State at Oklahoma Box Score, September 26, 2020 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2020-09-26-oklahoma.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}
He registered 123 carries for 642 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions for 434 yards, two receiving touchdowns, and seven kickoff returns for 145 yards.{{Cite web |title=Deuce Vaughn 2020 Game Log |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/deuce-vaughn-1/gamelog/2020 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} He was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Conference.{{Cite web |last=Robinett |first=Kellis |date=July 20, 2021 |title=Chris Klieman excited about more Kansas State running backs than just Deuce Vaughn |url=https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/college/cat-zone/2021/07/20/chris-klieman-excited-more-kansas-state-running-backs-than-just-deuce-vaughn/8026092002/ |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=The Topeka Capital-Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Robinett |first=Kellis |date=December 17, 2020 |title=All-Big 12 team: K-State RB Deuce Vaughn, Breece Hall honors |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article247920630.html |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=The Wichita Eagle}}
=2021 season=
Vaughn entered his sophomore season on the watch list for the Doak Walker Award.{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2021 |title=Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn named to Doak |url=https://themercury.com/k_state_sports/kansas-state-running-back-deuce-vaughn-named-to-doak-walker-award-watch-list/article_e1a7469a-6c08-5807-ae7b-9f492f3ef098.html |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=The Manhattan Mercury}} He tallied 235 carries for 1,404 yards (6-yard avg.), 18 rushing touchdowns, 49 receptions for 468 yards (9-yard avg.) and four receiving touchdowns. He had nine games on the year going over 100 rushing yards to go with one game going over 100 receiving yards.{{Cite web |title=Deuce Vaughn 2021 Game Log |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/deuce-vaughn-1/gamelog/2021 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}
He posted 162 rushing yards (career-high), 70 receiving yards, and three rushing touchdowns, including an 80-yard touchdown run against Kansas.{{Cite web |title=Kansas State at Kansas Box Score, November 6, 2021 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2021-11-06-kansas.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} He had 146 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in the 2022 Texas Bowl 42–20 win against LSU.{{Cite web |title=Texas Bowl - LSU vs Kansas State Box Score, January 4, 2022 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2022-01-04-kansas-state.html |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} He was named as a Consensus All-American.{{Cite web |title=Consensus All-America Teams (2020–2022) |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/all-america-2020-2029.html#2021 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}}
=2022 season=
As a junior, he recorded 293 carries for 1,558 yards (5.3-yard avg.), nine rushing touchdowns, 42 receptions for 378 yards (9-yard avg.), three receiving touchdowns and 1,936 all-purpose yards.{{Cite web |title=Deuce Vaughn 2022 Game Log |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/deuce-vaughn-1/gamelog/2022 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Sports Reference |language=en}} He became the third player in school history with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons and the first player with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a career.
He had 147 rushing yards and a touchdown in the regular-season finale against the Kansas. He tallied 130 rushing yards and one touchdown in the Big 12 Championship Game 31–28 overtime victory against TCU.{{Cite web |date=December 31, 2022 |title=No. 3 TCU loses 31–28 in OT to K-State in Big 12 title game |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401437030 |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}} He had 133 rushing yards, including an 88-yard touchdown, in the 45–20 2022 Sugar Bowl loss against the Alabama.{{Cite web |date=December 31, 2022 |title=Young throws for 5 TDs, Alabama tops K-State in Sugar Bowl |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401442018 |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}} At the end of the season, he chose to forgo his senior season to enter the 2023 NFL draft.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Arne |date=January 2, 2023 |title=Kansas State football running back Deuce Vaughn declares for NFL draft |url=https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/college/cat-zone/2023/01/03/kansas-state-football-running-back-deuce-vaughn-to-ender-nfl-draft/69772025007/ |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=CJOnline.com}}
He finished his college career with 651 carries (second in school history), 3,604 rushing yards (second in school history), 5.5-yard average, 34 rushing touchdowns, twenty one 100-yard rushing games (second in school history), 116 receptions for 1,280 yards (11-yard avg.), 9 receiving touchdowns, 7 kickoff returns for 145 yards (20.7-yard avg.), 5,029 all-purpose yards (third in school history), 258 points scored (sixth in school history) and 279 rushing yards in bowl games (school record). He was one of just two Big 12 players to ever register 3,600 rushing yards and 1,250 receiving yards in a career (DeMarco Murray). He was named a consensus All-American for the 2022 season.{{Cite web |date=December 15, 2022 |title=Vaughn Earns Second-Straight Consensus All-America Honor |url=https://www.kstatesports.com/news/2022/12/15/football-vaughn-earns-second-straight-consensus-all-america-honor.aspx |access-date=August 7, 2023 |website=Kansas State University Athletics |language=en}}
=College statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||||||
| colspan="15" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Kansas State Wildcats|color=white}}"| Kansas State Wildcats | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="2"| Season
! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| Receiving ! colspan="4"| Kick Returns | ||||||||||||||
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 2020
| 10 || 7 || 123 || 642 || 5.2 || 7 || 25 || 434 || 17.4 || 2 || 7 || 145 || 20.7 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2021
| 13 || 13 || 235 || 1,404 || 6.0 || 18 || 49 || 468 || 9.6 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2022
| 12 || 12 || 293 || 1,558 || 5.3 || 9 || 40 || 348 || 8.7 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/deuce-vaughn-1.html Career] | 35 | 32 | 651 | 3,604 | 5.5 | 34 | 114 | 1,250 | 10.9 | 9 | 7 | 145 | 20.7 | 0 |
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 5
| weight = 179
| dash = 4.56
| ten split = 1.59
| twenty split = 2.67
| shuttle = 4.22
| cone drill = 7.10
| vertical = 35.5
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 8
| bench = 17
| arm span = 27 3/4
| hand span = 9 1/2
| note = Sources:{{Cite web |last=Reuter |first=Chad |last2=Zierlein |first2=Lance |title=Deuce Vaughn Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/deuce-vaughn/32005641-5542-4979-415d-9403ea793f9b |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1045607&DraftYear=2023 |title=2023 NFL Draft Scout Deuce Vaughn College Football Profile |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=DraftScout.com}}
}}
Vaughn was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (212th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. His father, who is a scout for the Cowboys, called Vaughn to tell him he had been drafted.{{Cite web |last=Archer |first=Todd |date=April 29, 2023 |title=Cowboys use 6th-round pick on Deuce Vaughn, son of team scout |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36323973 |access-date=April 30, 2023 |website=ESPN.com}} With a measurement at the combine of 5'5", Vaughn became the shortest running back ever drafted since the NFL began tracking the combine.{{Cite web |last=Schwab |first=Frank |date=April 29, 2023 |title=NFL Draft: Cowboys grab productive but undersized RB Deuce Vaughn, son of Cowboys scout |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-draft-cowboys-grab-productive-but-undersized-rb-deuce-vaughn-son-of-cowboys-scout-212549773.html |access-date=May 1, 2023 |website=Yahoo! Sports |language=en-US}} On January 3, 2024, he was placed on the reserve/injured list with an ankle injury. He appeared in 7 games as a third-string running back, compiling 23 rushes for 40 yards, 7 receptions for 40 yards and 4 punt returns for 19 yards. He was declared inactive in 9 games.
On January 5, 2025, second-year running back Deuce Vaughn rushed six times for a career-high 37 yards. He had 6.2 yards per carry.
=NFL career statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | |||||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="5"| Receiving ! colspan="5"| Punt Returns ! colspan="2"| Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | |
| 2023 | DAL
| 7 || 0 || 23 || 40 || 1.7 || 13 || 0 || 7 || 40 || 5.7 || 11 || 0 || 1 || 10 || 10.0 || 10 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | DAL
| 7 || 0 || 17 || 70 || 4.1 || 12 || 0 || 3 || 18 || 6.0 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/V/VaugDe00.htm Career] | 14 | 0 | 40 | 110 | 2.8 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 58 | 5.8 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Personal life
Vaughn's father, Chris, played college football at Murray State and is a scout for the Dallas Cowboys after previously working as an assistant coach at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Memphis and Texas.{{Cite web |last=Davison |first=Drew |date=October 11, 2020 |title=K-State's Vaughn, son of Dallas Cowboys scout, stars vs. TCU |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/college/big-12/texas-christian-university/article246378780.html |access-date=August 23, 2021 |website=Fort Worth Star-Telegram}} Deuce is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{footballstats|yahoo=40240|espn=4431453|nfl=deuce-vaughn}}
- [https://www.dallascowboys.com/team/players-roster/deuce-vaughn/ Dallas Cowboys bio]
- [https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/football/roster/deuce-vaughn/8582 Kansas State Wildcats bio]
{{2021 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{2022 NCAA Division I FBS College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Cowboys2023DraftPicks}}
{{Dallas Cowboys roster navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, Deuce}}
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American football running backs
Category:Kansas State Wildcats football players
Category:Players of American football from Round Rock, Texas