Dynamic Duo Getting Revved Up
Oct 03, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
In a season of highlights for No. 20 Kansas State, the ebullient sight of electric 5-foot-6, 176-pound Deuce Vaughn playing bodyguard for Adrian Martinez in the open field as the fleet-footed quarterback darted 69 yards into the end zone against Texas Tech on Saturday perhaps best epitomizes the come-at-us-bro identity of a quarterback-running back rushing duo unlike any we've seen in purple and white in two decades.
Through five games, Vaughn ranks third in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 638 total rushing yards, and Martinez has 469 rushing yards, which ranks 22nd in the FBS and most by a quarterback.
Together, they have amassed 1,107 yards on the ground. They are the top quarterback-running back rushing duo in the country. And that could spell big-time trouble for the Big 12 Conference, as the Martinez-Vaughn rushing attack has proven frightfully unstoppable for K-State, 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference, in two league victories over No. 6 Oklahoma (41-34) and the Red Raiders (37-20).
"It's a nightmare for defenses because they're both home run hitters," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says. "They're not getting six or seven (yards) and that's it. It's both of those guys. It's hard to defend us."
One week after Martinez scorched the Sooners for 148 rushing yards on 21 carries and four touchdowns while Vaughn had 25 rushing attempts for 116 yards, the dynamic duo turned the run-stopping Red Raiders into Keystone Cops amid deafening cheers from 50,782 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Martinez had 12 carries for a career-high 171 yards (14.2 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns, and Vaughn had 23 carries for a career-high 170 yards (7.4) against a Red Raiders defense that entered giving up just 99.8 rushing yards per contest.
"I didn't know they had 171 and 170," Klieman says, admiring the final statistics at his postgame news conference. "That's a pretty good day they had. I knew they had a good day last week (at Oklahoma). I didn't realize it was this."
Martinez struck fast from the start, taking the first snap from scrimmage and streaking 57 yards up the gut of the Red Raiders defense (he scored on an 18-yard run on the next play) while another 50-yard run in the second quarter was negated by a holding penalty — "You guys saw he has a second gear," Klieman says. On the second drive of the third quarter, Vaughn found the outside edge and dashed 69 yards down the Red Raiders sideline. Two drives later, Martinez went through the middle of the Red Raiders pressure, found a crease — and was gone 69 yards into the end zone. His three carries of 50-plus yards this season is tied for most among FBS players, regardless of position.
"It was basically a Cover O defense and they decided to bring pressure, and when you do that, it might leave a gap open, and there's nobody left," Martinez says. "It's funny because Deuce was on a (passing) route, and we just looked at each other like, 'it's just me and you,' and we just took it all the way."
The highlight moment came one week after Martinez on third-and-16 play ripped Oklahoma on a 55-yard run — at that point his longest play as a Wildcat.
But the sight of Martinez and Vaughn together and separated from the pack on Martinez's 69-yard run against Texas Tech was as if scripted from a Hollywood football film — the returning Consensus All-American running back escorting the most dangerous Power 5 quarterback running threat in the nation into the north end zone, a football throw away from the Vanier Family Football Complex, where they work out together, watch film together, recover from practice together, and can get lost talking about football.
Though Martinez is appearing much more comfortable in the passing game — he is completing 62.2% of his passes for 654 yards and three touchdowns without a single interception in 119 passing attempts — it's his skills in the running game that coupled with Vaughn's other-worldly talent has upstart K-State, the National Team of the Week after the win in Norman, on the national map in 2022.
"(Our combination) puts defenses in a bind," Vaughn says. Who are you going to try and stop? Who are you going to try and contain? With both of us in the backfield, it's hard to contain both."
We heard stories in fall practice regarding the potential of the Martinez-Vaughn combo, and don't think Martinez's eyes didn't light up during his initial meeting with reporters soon after transferring from Nebraska at the prospect of teaming up with one of the greatest running backs in K-State history. Now what was once a mere vision has become a reality under first-year offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who expertly dials up plays — some of which appear to be carbon copies from the 2012 Heisman Trophy Finalist's own playing days — while Martinez brings improvisational skills as a 44-game starter and one of only two active FBS players with 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career.
"We've seen a lot of those plays in practice through his time here since very, very early, so him being able to do that and all us able to execute was a lot of fun to see," says Klein, who indicates that there's more in the arsenal. "There's next levels of things and sequences of things and different type of schemes and formations. (Oklahoma) was a great stepping stone and building block of seeing some of that stuff come together."
It proved to be a nightmare for the Red Raiders,
"What you saw today and last week when they beat Oklahoma in Norman is who they are," Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire says. "Throw the ball enough to keep you honest, but you've got one of the best running backs in the Big 12 if not the country and you've got a quarterback who's almost like a running back.
"They've really figured out who they are and are doing a great job."
K-State ranks fourth in the FBS in averaging 267.2 rushing yards per game, and in just five games together, Martinez and Vaughn are already making history: Martinez (148 rushing yards against Oklahoma, 171 against Texas Tech) and Vaughn (116 and 170) are the first pair of players in K-State history to each rush for 100 yards in consecutive games. Meanwhile, against Texas Tech, Vaughn vaulted past Eric Hickson and Alex Barnes to No. 5 all-time in career rushing yards (2,684) in K-State history — and he needs just 135 more rushing yards to pass Ell Roberson at No. 4.
"Those two are the biggest dual-threats in college football," says junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who had three sacks against the Red Raiders. "Adrian is a dual-threat quarterback while Deuce can get yards with his feet. Especially with that play he did? He's a bad man."
There was a time 20 years ago when similar plaudits were shared about quarterback Ell Roberson and running back Darren Sproles. Their names affixed to the stadium as proud members of the K-State Football Ring of Honor, Roberson and Sproles formed the nation's most feared quarterback-running back tandem in 2002 and 2003. Roberson became the first player in K-State history to pass for 1,000 yards (he had 1,580) and rush for 1,000 yards (he had 1,032 and 16 TDs) in a single season in 2002; Sproles rushed for 1,465 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Vaughn and Martinez are on pace to duplicate the feat.
"I'm having the most fun playing football with these guys that I've ever had," Vaughn says. "That's just a testament to the bond we've built for nine months now. Man, if I never score a touchdown ever again and we win the Big 12 Championship, I'll be the happiest person on earth."
Perhaps its stiffest test yet awaits, as K-State and its star ground-gaining duo travels to face Iowa State, 3-2 and 0-2, and a defense that ranks eighth nationally in surrendering just 83.0 rushing yards per contest. One week after holding No. 16 Baylor to 123 rushing yards on 42 attempts (2.93 yards per carry), the Cyclones held Kansas to just 112 yards (3.61), and have allowed just four rushing touchdowns all season.
Yet Martinez and Vaughn showed plenty of moxie behind a powerful offensive line against the Sooners and Red Raiders, and figure to have more in store for the remainder of the league season.
Standing in the postgame interview room inside Vanier following the Wildcats' latest conquest, Martinez was asked whether he believed that he and Vaughn were among the top quarterback-running back combos in college football.
Martinez didn't hesitate in his response.
"I would think so, yeah," he says. "I'd say for sure Deuce is (at the top), I'm still working my way there, and it's a process, and we'll definitely get there.
"Having Deuce by my side definitely helps."
And Vaughn, who appears poised for another All-America season, has no qualms with sharing his carries in the name of team success. The consummate teammate, Vaughn has deftly improved his blocking this season while also taking care of business on the ground, and appears at home with Martinez — even when he's merely running next to him in the open field.
"You see how dynamic he is from just these past two weeks (at Oklahoma and) going for 171 yards (against Texas Tech) and there were a couple times he broke out and I was like, 'Oh, OK, here we go,'" Vaughn says. "That's just how dynamic he is. He's a home run hitter, and man, I'm so excited to have him on the team."
Teammates are understandably excited for the Martinez-Vaughn combination — and the possibilities to come.
"Honestly, with those two in the backfield, it's dangerous, and I feel like it's going to be harder for any defense to go against them," Anudike-Uzomah says. "It was already hard to go against them in fall camp."
Anudike-Uzomah shakes his head.
"I can't imagine," he says, "any other defenses going against them."
In a season of highlights for No. 20 Kansas State, the ebullient sight of electric 5-foot-6, 176-pound Deuce Vaughn playing bodyguard for Adrian Martinez in the open field as the fleet-footed quarterback darted 69 yards into the end zone against Texas Tech on Saturday perhaps best epitomizes the come-at-us-bro identity of a quarterback-running back rushing duo unlike any we've seen in purple and white in two decades.
Through five games, Vaughn ranks third in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 638 total rushing yards, and Martinez has 469 rushing yards, which ranks 22nd in the FBS and most by a quarterback.
Together, they have amassed 1,107 yards on the ground. They are the top quarterback-running back rushing duo in the country. And that could spell big-time trouble for the Big 12 Conference, as the Martinez-Vaughn rushing attack has proven frightfully unstoppable for K-State, 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12 Conference, in two league victories over No. 6 Oklahoma (41-34) and the Red Raiders (37-20).
"It's a nightmare for defenses because they're both home run hitters," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says. "They're not getting six or seven (yards) and that's it. It's both of those guys. It's hard to defend us."
One week after Martinez scorched the Sooners for 148 rushing yards on 21 carries and four touchdowns while Vaughn had 25 rushing attempts for 116 yards, the dynamic duo turned the run-stopping Red Raiders into Keystone Cops amid deafening cheers from 50,782 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Martinez had 12 carries for a career-high 171 yards (14.2 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns, and Vaughn had 23 carries for a career-high 170 yards (7.4) against a Red Raiders defense that entered giving up just 99.8 rushing yards per contest.
"I didn't know they had 171 and 170," Klieman says, admiring the final statistics at his postgame news conference. "That's a pretty good day they had. I knew they had a good day last week (at Oklahoma). I didn't realize it was this."
Martinez struck fast from the start, taking the first snap from scrimmage and streaking 57 yards up the gut of the Red Raiders defense (he scored on an 18-yard run on the next play) while another 50-yard run in the second quarter was negated by a holding penalty — "You guys saw he has a second gear," Klieman says. On the second drive of the third quarter, Vaughn found the outside edge and dashed 69 yards down the Red Raiders sideline. Two drives later, Martinez went through the middle of the Red Raiders pressure, found a crease — and was gone 69 yards into the end zone. His three carries of 50-plus yards this season is tied for most among FBS players, regardless of position.
"It was basically a Cover O defense and they decided to bring pressure, and when you do that, it might leave a gap open, and there's nobody left," Martinez says. "It's funny because Deuce was on a (passing) route, and we just looked at each other like, 'it's just me and you,' and we just took it all the way."
The highlight moment came one week after Martinez on third-and-16 play ripped Oklahoma on a 55-yard run — at that point his longest play as a Wildcat.
But the sight of Martinez and Vaughn together and separated from the pack on Martinez's 69-yard run against Texas Tech was as if scripted from a Hollywood football film — the returning Consensus All-American running back escorting the most dangerous Power 5 quarterback running threat in the nation into the north end zone, a football throw away from the Vanier Family Football Complex, where they work out together, watch film together, recover from practice together, and can get lost talking about football.
Though Martinez is appearing much more comfortable in the passing game — he is completing 62.2% of his passes for 654 yards and three touchdowns without a single interception in 119 passing attempts — it's his skills in the running game that coupled with Vaughn's other-worldly talent has upstart K-State, the National Team of the Week after the win in Norman, on the national map in 2022.
"(Our combination) puts defenses in a bind," Vaughn says. Who are you going to try and stop? Who are you going to try and contain? With both of us in the backfield, it's hard to contain both."
We heard stories in fall practice regarding the potential of the Martinez-Vaughn combo, and don't think Martinez's eyes didn't light up during his initial meeting with reporters soon after transferring from Nebraska at the prospect of teaming up with one of the greatest running backs in K-State history. Now what was once a mere vision has become a reality under first-year offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who expertly dials up plays — some of which appear to be carbon copies from the 2012 Heisman Trophy Finalist's own playing days — while Martinez brings improvisational skills as a 44-game starter and one of only two active FBS players with 9,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards in a career.
"We've seen a lot of those plays in practice through his time here since very, very early, so him being able to do that and all us able to execute was a lot of fun to see," says Klein, who indicates that there's more in the arsenal. "There's next levels of things and sequences of things and different type of schemes and formations. (Oklahoma) was a great stepping stone and building block of seeing some of that stuff come together."
It proved to be a nightmare for the Red Raiders,
"What you saw today and last week when they beat Oklahoma in Norman is who they are," Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire says. "Throw the ball enough to keep you honest, but you've got one of the best running backs in the Big 12 if not the country and you've got a quarterback who's almost like a running back.
"They've really figured out who they are and are doing a great job."
K-State ranks fourth in the FBS in averaging 267.2 rushing yards per game, and in just five games together, Martinez and Vaughn are already making history: Martinez (148 rushing yards against Oklahoma, 171 against Texas Tech) and Vaughn (116 and 170) are the first pair of players in K-State history to each rush for 100 yards in consecutive games. Meanwhile, against Texas Tech, Vaughn vaulted past Eric Hickson and Alex Barnes to No. 5 all-time in career rushing yards (2,684) in K-State history — and he needs just 135 more rushing yards to pass Ell Roberson at No. 4.
"Those two are the biggest dual-threats in college football," says junior defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who had three sacks against the Red Raiders. "Adrian is a dual-threat quarterback while Deuce can get yards with his feet. Especially with that play he did? He's a bad man."
There was a time 20 years ago when similar plaudits were shared about quarterback Ell Roberson and running back Darren Sproles. Their names affixed to the stadium as proud members of the K-State Football Ring of Honor, Roberson and Sproles formed the nation's most feared quarterback-running back tandem in 2002 and 2003. Roberson became the first player in K-State history to pass for 1,000 yards (he had 1,580) and rush for 1,000 yards (he had 1,032 and 16 TDs) in a single season in 2002; Sproles rushed for 1,465 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Vaughn and Martinez are on pace to duplicate the feat.
"I'm having the most fun playing football with these guys that I've ever had," Vaughn says. "That's just a testament to the bond we've built for nine months now. Man, if I never score a touchdown ever again and we win the Big 12 Championship, I'll be the happiest person on earth."
Perhaps its stiffest test yet awaits, as K-State and its star ground-gaining duo travels to face Iowa State, 3-2 and 0-2, and a defense that ranks eighth nationally in surrendering just 83.0 rushing yards per contest. One week after holding No. 16 Baylor to 123 rushing yards on 42 attempts (2.93 yards per carry), the Cyclones held Kansas to just 112 yards (3.61), and have allowed just four rushing touchdowns all season.
Yet Martinez and Vaughn showed plenty of moxie behind a powerful offensive line against the Sooners and Red Raiders, and figure to have more in store for the remainder of the league season.
Standing in the postgame interview room inside Vanier following the Wildcats' latest conquest, Martinez was asked whether he believed that he and Vaughn were among the top quarterback-running back combos in college football.
Martinez didn't hesitate in his response.
"I would think so, yeah," he says. "I'd say for sure Deuce is (at the top), I'm still working my way there, and it's a process, and we'll definitely get there.
"Having Deuce by my side definitely helps."
And Vaughn, who appears poised for another All-America season, has no qualms with sharing his carries in the name of team success. The consummate teammate, Vaughn has deftly improved his blocking this season while also taking care of business on the ground, and appears at home with Martinez — even when he's merely running next to him in the open field.
"You see how dynamic he is from just these past two weeks (at Oklahoma and) going for 171 yards (against Texas Tech) and there were a couple times he broke out and I was like, 'Oh, OK, here we go,'" Vaughn says. "That's just how dynamic he is. He's a home run hitter, and man, I'm so excited to have him on the team."
Teammates are understandably excited for the Martinez-Vaughn combination — and the possibilities to come.
"Honestly, with those two in the backfield, it's dangerous, and I feel like it's going to be harder for any defense to go against them," Anudike-Uzomah says. "It was already hard to go against them in fall camp."
Anudike-Uzomah shakes his head.
"I can't imagine," he says, "any other defenses going against them."
Players Mentioned
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