Kansas State University Athletics
Vaughn Adds One More Historic Performance in 2020
Dec 07, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Deuce Vaughn broke a lot of records on Saturday afternoon. Not one of them is likely to surprise you.
The K-State freshman record for rushing yards, all-purpose yards and yards from scrimmage all belong to the 5-foot-5 kid from Round Rock, Texas.
"On the field I feel like I had a whole bunch of fun this year. Off the field I can work on a whole bunch of things as far as being a leader," Vaughn said. "That's what's been preached all year."
His season followed the kind of narrative arc that could only unfold in Manhattan, as the Darren Sproles comparison went from exciting to expected to OK-we-get-it-the-announcers-talk-about-this-every-week.
It's worth remembering that Sproles had 210 all-purpose yards during his freshman season. Vaughn had 221 on Saturday.
He's written as impressive a freshman year as anyone in the history of the program, with the numbers to back it up.
But the thing about Vaughn is that he's at his most boring in a record book.
In a season played in front of reduced capacity or empty stadiums, with depleted rosters and a schedule written with crossed fingers, Vaughn plays football in exactly the opposite way.
His style of football is noisy, in the "Deuuuuuce" chant that follows every run, and reliable in averaging 5.2 yards per rush and scoring nine touchdowns in just ten games.
The 2020 season didn't deserve a player like Vaughn, and he showed up anyway.
"We need leaders on this team," Vaughn said. "We need people that are going to take accountability in this team and pull everybody along with them."
It all came together for Vaughn on Saturday, as he rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns, caught four passes for 45 yards and added 51 more yards as a kick returner against Texas.
One of the joys of the 2020 season has been watching Chris Klieman and the K-State coaching staff realize what they have in Vaughn and the different ways they can deploy him.
We've seen the Wildcats use him as a decoy, especially as a change at quarterback to Will Howard has led K-State to rely more on zone reads and designed QB draws.
To his credit, the freshman running back has had zero problems with this.
"If I run the jet sweep and four guys follow and Will (Howard) has the 70-yard run…I'll do that all day if we're popping big gains and other dudes are getting big gains," Vaughn said earlier this season. "I'll be a decoy or do whatever I've got to do to get them out of there."
The most exciting spot on the field to line up Vaughn might not be in the backfield at all, but as a slot receiver.
He's caught touchdowns against Texas Tech and Baylor, adding 45 more yards on Saturday and making life easier for Howard all season.
"At this point nothing he does surprises me," Howard said. "He's an incredibly mature kid, an awesome teammate and a heck of a football player. He's proved that. He made some really, really good plays today."
His first touchdown of the game came in the first quarter, as the Wildcats got their star running back in the place where's been the most dangerous all year: one-on-one in the open field.
K-State lined up in a shotgun, two-back set, with Vaughn following fullback Jax Dineen as a lead blocker. You can see Texas seal the edge, before Vaughn cuts inside and scoots past the D-line.
In the open field against the Longhorns secondary, it's not really a fair fight.
For all the talk about Vaughn as an undersized running back, he's said before that his height is a superpower. With two Texas defensive backs tackling air, it feels more like an equation.
If the time you need to get low enough to tackle Vaughn is less time than he needs to change direction, he's gone. Three cuts on that 19-yard run, three Longhorns that were just too slow.
And that's why his second touchdown of the game felt even more ridiculous.
It was the exact same formation, except this time things started to break down. Vaughn was met at the one-yard line by a Texas defensive back who had enough time to make a tackle.
And so, Vaughn simply jumped over him. Even if you do everything right against the freshman, he can still find a way to beat you.
In Vaughn's very first game at K-State, FOX announcer Gus Johnson declared that Vaughn was a player who is "going to get us [back] to Manhattan a whole lot."
In his last game of the season – once again in the national spotlight on FOX – Vaughn went out and proved him right. With the possibility of a bowl game, the freshman could add to his impressive totals later this month.
But in his last game of the season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Vaughn isn't close to satisfied.
"At the end of the day, winning the ballgame is the biggest thing when you step out on the field on Saturdays," he said. "Good game, but it wasn't enough to get the win today. So, got to get back to work."
Deuce Vaughn broke a lot of records on Saturday afternoon. Not one of them is likely to surprise you.
The K-State freshman record for rushing yards, all-purpose yards and yards from scrimmage all belong to the 5-foot-5 kid from Round Rock, Texas.
"On the field I feel like I had a whole bunch of fun this year. Off the field I can work on a whole bunch of things as far as being a leader," Vaughn said. "That's what's been preached all year."
His season followed the kind of narrative arc that could only unfold in Manhattan, as the Darren Sproles comparison went from exciting to expected to OK-we-get-it-the-announcers-talk-about-this-every-week.
It's worth remembering that Sproles had 210 all-purpose yards during his freshman season. Vaughn had 221 on Saturday.
He's written as impressive a freshman year as anyone in the history of the program, with the numbers to back it up.
But the thing about Vaughn is that he's at his most boring in a record book.
In a season played in front of reduced capacity or empty stadiums, with depleted rosters and a schedule written with crossed fingers, Vaughn plays football in exactly the opposite way.
His style of football is noisy, in the "Deuuuuuce" chant that follows every run, and reliable in averaging 5.2 yards per rush and scoring nine touchdowns in just ten games.
The 2020 season didn't deserve a player like Vaughn, and he showed up anyway.
Deuce Vaughn is the Wildcats new freshman record holder for rushing yards, all-purpose yards, and yards from scrimmage #KStateFB ⚒ @C_Vaughn22 pic.twitter.com/DS9gqXAvad
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 5, 2020
"We need leaders on this team," Vaughn said. "We need people that are going to take accountability in this team and pull everybody along with them."
It all came together for Vaughn on Saturday, as he rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns, caught four passes for 45 yards and added 51 more yards as a kick returner against Texas.
One of the joys of the 2020 season has been watching Chris Klieman and the K-State coaching staff realize what they have in Vaughn and the different ways they can deploy him.
We've seen the Wildcats use him as a decoy, especially as a change at quarterback to Will Howard has led K-State to rely more on zone reads and designed QB draws.
To his credit, the freshman running back has had zero problems with this.
"If I run the jet sweep and four guys follow and Will (Howard) has the 70-yard run…I'll do that all day if we're popping big gains and other dudes are getting big gains," Vaughn said earlier this season. "I'll be a decoy or do whatever I've got to do to get them out of there."
The most exciting spot on the field to line up Vaughn might not be in the backfield at all, but as a slot receiver.
He's caught touchdowns against Texas Tech and Baylor, adding 45 more yards on Saturday and making life easier for Howard all season.
"At this point nothing he does surprises me," Howard said. "He's an incredibly mature kid, an awesome teammate and a heck of a football player. He's proved that. He made some really, really good plays today."
His first touchdown of the game came in the first quarter, as the Wildcats got their star running back in the place where's been the most dangerous all year: one-on-one in the open field.
K-State lined up in a shotgun, two-back set, with Vaughn following fullback Jax Dineen as a lead blocker. You can see Texas seal the edge, before Vaughn cuts inside and scoots past the D-line.
In the open field against the Longhorns secondary, it's not really a fair fight.
tw-align-centerGus Johnson x @C_Vaughn22
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 6, 2020
The @KStateFB RB was made for the big stage ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/dNYGwHFmqU
For all the talk about Vaughn as an undersized running back, he's said before that his height is a superpower. With two Texas defensive backs tackling air, it feels more like an equation.
If the time you need to get low enough to tackle Vaughn is less time than he needs to change direction, he's gone. Three cuts on that 19-yard run, three Longhorns that were just too slow.
And that's why his second touchdown of the game felt even more ridiculous.
It was the exact same formation, except this time things started to break down. Vaughn was met at the one-yard line by a Texas defensive back who had enough time to make a tackle.
And so, Vaughn simply jumped over him. Even if you do everything right against the freshman, he can still find a way to beat you.
In Vaughn's very first game at K-State, FOX announcer Gus Johnson declared that Vaughn was a player who is "going to get us [back] to Manhattan a whole lot."
tw-align-center🗣 WOOP @C_Vaughn22 with 102 all-purpose yds, 2 TD's in the first half #KStateFB ⚒ pic.twitter.com/bTu2zLxNoI
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 5, 2020
In his last game of the season – once again in the national spotlight on FOX – Vaughn went out and proved him right. With the possibility of a bowl game, the freshman could add to his impressive totals later this month.
But in his last game of the season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Vaughn isn't close to satisfied.
"At the end of the day, winning the ballgame is the biggest thing when you step out on the field on Saturdays," he said. "Good game, but it wasn't enough to get the win today. So, got to get back to work."
tw-align-centerHere for it #KStateFB ⚒ @C_Vaughn22 pic.twitter.com/Y8NaFqSz6H
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 5, 2020
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