SE: Vaughn Returns Home for Regular-Season Finale
Nov 22, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Growing up, Deuce Vaughn had a special request for his Thanksgiving meal. Although he loved the ham and fried corn prepared by his mother Marquette, she always set aside a bowl of plain cooked pasta noodles while preparing the macaroni and cheese. Buttered macaroni noodles — without cheese — has always been Deuce's favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
"Deuce will eat any kind of bread, rolls, and he loves pasta," Chris Vaughn, his father, says. "He loves carbohydrates. But the macaroni is not traditional. Buttered macaroni. He's usually not a pasta-and-sauce guy."
This Thanksgiving, two of Marquette's four brothers — Markise and Martez Hammonds — will visit the Vaughn family in Round Rock, which is about 30 minutes north of Austin, Texas. After their Thanksgiving meal, the Vaughn's will volunteer at their local church. They like to hand out turkeys and warm meals. Then, of course, they'll watch football games on TV.
Call it a precursor for Friday's main dish.
That's when Deuce Vaughn, a Doak Walker Award Semifinalist, will take center stage with the opportunity to gobble up a rare feat, as Kansas State, 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference, visits Texas, 4-7 and 2-6, in Friday's 11 a.m. kickoff in 100,000-capacity Texas Memorial Stadium.
Marquette, who is typically the family's organizer, has an early prediction that between 25 and 30 family members, friends, and high school administrators and staff will be in attendance for Vaughn's first appearance ever inside the stadium. That ticket number is likely to grow throughout the week.
"I know some middle-school coaches have sent me messages saying they'll be there," Marquette says. "He has a lot of friends that are really excited to go see him."
They could bare witness to a rare feat.
Vaughn is bearing down on becoming just the fourth player in the history of the Big 12 and only the third player in the nation in the last five years to record 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season.
He needs 36 receiving yards to achieve the mark.
Nebraska's Marlon Lucky (2007), and Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray (2010) and Joe Mixon (2016) currently are the only players in Big 12 history to have 1,000-500 in the same season. Penn State's Saquon Barkley (2017) and Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell (2019) remain the only players in the FBS the achieve the feat in the last five years.
Vaughn reached 1,000 rushing yards when he ran for 128 yards on 11 carries and 1 touchdown during the Wildcats' 20-10 loss to No. 11 Baylor on Saturday. It was the seventh 100-yard rushing performance this season for Vaughn, who 1,115 rushing yards are second most by a sophomore in history behind only Darren Sproles' total of 1,465 yards in 2002. Vaughn is also K-State's leading pass catcher with 45 catches for 464 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"Humbling," Vaughn says, "but a lot more work to do."
"Especially with one more game left in the regular season and the bowl game, there's a lot more out there," he adds. "It's humbling and honoring but the work's not done."
It seems like every week, the 5-foot-6, 172-pound Vaughn unearths at least one eye-popping moment. He leads all Power 5 conference players with 52 plays of 10-plus yards, ranks fifth among Power 5 players with 143.5 all-purpose yards per game, and is tied for the fourth-fastest to reach 1,000 rushing yards in K-State history.
This time, Vaughn's moment came with 3 minutes, 3 seconds in the second quarter against Baylor on Saturday. K-State faced first-and-10 at its own 35-yard line. The Wildcats had three wide receivers to the left and Vaughn lined up to the left of quarterback Skylar Thompson in shotgun formation.
When Vaughn took the handoff, he instantly found a gap between left tackle Cooper Beebe and tight end Nick Lenners, and immediately shot out of the gate. After 10 yards, Vaughn was in a footrace with cornerback Al Walcott, and safeties Jairon McVea and JT Woods — a member of the Baylor track and field team who ran a career-best 10.61 in the outdoor 100 meters at the USC Trojan Invitational in 2019.
As Vaughn raced down the Baylor sideline, FS1 commentator Aaron Goldsmith shouted on air, "And! You! Can! Kiss! Deuce! Vaughn! Goodbye!"
Woods clipped Vaughn inside the 5 but Vaughn extended and caught the front right pylon for the score.
"That's one thing about Deuce," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says, "whenever he gets the ball, there's always the chance he can take it the distance."
"That kid is a special talent," says sixth-year senior linebacker Cody Fletcher, who played his final home game in Manhattan. "He's one kid I'll come back and watch. He's a great player and he always puts it on the line."
Adds sixth-year senior center Noah Johnson: "I know that guy's not driven by stats or individual accolades. He wants to win and wants to do what he can for the team to get us a win. I'm proud of him. He's an awesome dude. I couldn't be luckier to be his teammate."
Now K-State, the Vaughn family, and their many supporters, prepare to head south to Austin for what they hope to be a memorable post-Thanksgiving feast, as the Longhorns have lost six straight — their longest losing streak since 1956 — while the Wildcats eye their first win at Texas Memorial Stadium since 2011.
"We get a chance to come back out and there and play another football game together and that's big time," Vaughn says. "The next opportunity is always the biggest. I'm excited to get back out there. I'm going to embrace each and every day before Friday and then go out there and put it all on the line for those guys."
This Thanksgiving, instead of diving into a heaping bowl of buttered macaroni, Vaughn might dive into another rare feat, as hungry K-State seeks to end the regular season with a victory in Austin.
Growing up, Deuce Vaughn had a special request for his Thanksgiving meal. Although he loved the ham and fried corn prepared by his mother Marquette, she always set aside a bowl of plain cooked pasta noodles while preparing the macaroni and cheese. Buttered macaroni noodles — without cheese — has always been Deuce's favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
"Deuce will eat any kind of bread, rolls, and he loves pasta," Chris Vaughn, his father, says. "He loves carbohydrates. But the macaroni is not traditional. Buttered macaroni. He's usually not a pasta-and-sauce guy."
This Thanksgiving, two of Marquette's four brothers — Markise and Martez Hammonds — will visit the Vaughn family in Round Rock, which is about 30 minutes north of Austin, Texas. After their Thanksgiving meal, the Vaughn's will volunteer at their local church. They like to hand out turkeys and warm meals. Then, of course, they'll watch football games on TV.
Call it a precursor for Friday's main dish.
That's when Deuce Vaughn, a Doak Walker Award Semifinalist, will take center stage with the opportunity to gobble up a rare feat, as Kansas State, 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference, visits Texas, 4-7 and 2-6, in Friday's 11 a.m. kickoff in 100,000-capacity Texas Memorial Stadium.
Marquette, who is typically the family's organizer, has an early prediction that between 25 and 30 family members, friends, and high school administrators and staff will be in attendance for Vaughn's first appearance ever inside the stadium. That ticket number is likely to grow throughout the week.
"I know some middle-school coaches have sent me messages saying they'll be there," Marquette says. "He has a lot of friends that are really excited to go see him."
They could bare witness to a rare feat.
Vaughn is bearing down on becoming just the fourth player in the history of the Big 12 and only the third player in the nation in the last five years to record 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season.
He needs 36 receiving yards to achieve the mark.
Nebraska's Marlon Lucky (2007), and Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray (2010) and Joe Mixon (2016) currently are the only players in Big 12 history to have 1,000-500 in the same season. Penn State's Saquon Barkley (2017) and Memphis' Kenneth Gainwell (2019) remain the only players in the FBS the achieve the feat in the last five years.
Vaughn reached 1,000 rushing yards when he ran for 128 yards on 11 carries and 1 touchdown during the Wildcats' 20-10 loss to No. 11 Baylor on Saturday. It was the seventh 100-yard rushing performance this season for Vaughn, who 1,115 rushing yards are second most by a sophomore in history behind only Darren Sproles' total of 1,465 yards in 2002. Vaughn is also K-State's leading pass catcher with 45 catches for 464 yards and 3 touchdowns.
"Humbling," Vaughn says, "but a lot more work to do."
"Especially with one more game left in the regular season and the bowl game, there's a lot more out there," he adds. "It's humbling and honoring but the work's not done."
It seems like every week, the 5-foot-6, 172-pound Vaughn unearths at least one eye-popping moment. He leads all Power 5 conference players with 52 plays of 10-plus yards, ranks fifth among Power 5 players with 143.5 all-purpose yards per game, and is tied for the fourth-fastest to reach 1,000 rushing yards in K-State history.
This time, Vaughn's moment came with 3 minutes, 3 seconds in the second quarter against Baylor on Saturday. K-State faced first-and-10 at its own 35-yard line. The Wildcats had three wide receivers to the left and Vaughn lined up to the left of quarterback Skylar Thompson in shotgun formation.
When Vaughn took the handoff, he instantly found a gap between left tackle Cooper Beebe and tight end Nick Lenners, and immediately shot out of the gate. After 10 yards, Vaughn was in a footrace with cornerback Al Walcott, and safeties Jairon McVea and JT Woods — a member of the Baylor track and field team who ran a career-best 10.61 in the outdoor 100 meters at the USC Trojan Invitational in 2019.
As Vaughn raced down the Baylor sideline, FS1 commentator Aaron Goldsmith shouted on air, "And! You! Can! Kiss! Deuce! Vaughn! Goodbye!"
Woods clipped Vaughn inside the 5 but Vaughn extended and caught the front right pylon for the score.
"That's one thing about Deuce," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says, "whenever he gets the ball, there's always the chance he can take it the distance."
"That kid is a special talent," says sixth-year senior linebacker Cody Fletcher, who played his final home game in Manhattan. "He's one kid I'll come back and watch. He's a great player and he always puts it on the line."
Adds sixth-year senior center Noah Johnson: "I know that guy's not driven by stats or individual accolades. He wants to win and wants to do what he can for the team to get us a win. I'm proud of him. He's an awesome dude. I couldn't be luckier to be his teammate."
Now K-State, the Vaughn family, and their many supporters, prepare to head south to Austin for what they hope to be a memorable post-Thanksgiving feast, as the Longhorns have lost six straight — their longest losing streak since 1956 — while the Wildcats eye their first win at Texas Memorial Stadium since 2011.
"We get a chance to come back out and there and play another football game together and that's big time," Vaughn says. "The next opportunity is always the biggest. I'm excited to get back out there. I'm going to embrace each and every day before Friday and then go out there and put it all on the line for those guys."
This Thanksgiving, instead of diving into a heaping bowl of buttered macaroni, Vaughn might dive into another rare feat, as hungry K-State seeks to end the regular season with a victory in Austin.
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