Saturday Offers Another View of Vaughn
Nov 03, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Nothing Deuce Vaughn does surprises us anymore. Sometimes, it's easy to take it all for granted. We see him run for a 62-yard touchdown and lay out for one of the prettiest 1-yard touchdown receptions you'll see in college football this season against No. 9 Oklahoma State, and that's Deuce, and it's just expected that the returning Consensus All-American will do something ridiculously good each and every game, that we can fall into a trap, and it becomes easy to become numb to it all.
This season, quarterbacks have shared the story of the rise of this Kansas State football team — how electric Adrian Martinez emerged as one of the most dangerous threats in the Big 12 Conference against No. 6 Oklahoma, and how Will Howard threw a school record-tying four touchdowns against the ninth-ranked Cowboys.
Meanwhile, the 5-foot-6, 176-pound Vaughn, who hasn't always been 100% healthy, keeps grinding, keeps plugging away, keeps striving to reach that next gear, and keeps igniting cheers from 51,000 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"He's a very humble guy," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says. "Even though he had 160 yards, he's not going to say, 'Boy, I've arrived.' The kid is always going to run hard and stay humble."
By now we know this about Vaughn: He deflects praise and basks in team success. And much like his height, he has uses this team-first approach as his super power. So often in this day in age, great athletes are tempted to lose themselves in individual success. Instead, Vaughn spends two minutes bragging on his offensive line, he lauds the offensive scheme devised by offensive coordinator Collin Klein, he applauds his quarterback, and thanks the K-State support staff. He revels in his teammates' accomplishments.
"I'm having the most fun playing football with these guys than I've ever had," he 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. When you have guys all over the field who can make plays and get into the end zone, anytime we celebrate in the end zone, I'm a happy person."
There was plenty of happiness to go around during a 48-0 throttling of No. 9 Oklahoma State last Saturday, which catapulted K-State from No. 22 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 rankings. The Wildcats also debuted at No. 13 in the initial College Football Playoff Top 25 released on Tuesday.
No. 13 K-State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference, prepares to meet Texas, 5-3 and 3-2, in Saturday's 6 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium carrying sole possession of second place in the league standings. It will serve as the latest chance for the nation to witness Vaughn and the Wildcats in action in front of a sellout crowd.
Vaughn, a native of Round Rock, Texas, has rushed for more than 100 yards against Texas in each of his two meetings against the Longhorns.
"It's 100% the offensive line," Vaughn says. "They're fighting their butts off every single play out there. Everybody is working together and it makes the job really easy."
Vaughn was named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week on Tuesday after accounting for 176 total yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats' 48-0 win over the Cowboys. He amassed 158 rushing yards, including a 62-yard touchdown, and had four catches for 18 yards, including that 1-yard touchdown.
It marked Vaughn's fifth 100-yard rushing game this season and the 17th of his 31-game career. During the game, he passed Ell Roberson and Daniel Thomas and moved to No. 3 all-time in rushing yards (2,948) and career all-purpose yards (4,125) and into a tie for fifth place in career rushing touchdowns (30).
The fourth fastest player in the FBS since 1996 with 2,500 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a career, Vaughn is just 52 rushing yards from reaching 3,000 rushing yards. If he accomplishes that against Texas on Saturday, he would tie Saquan Barkley for the fastest Power 5 player since 1996 to reach 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards (32 games).
And here's the biggie: Vaughn is 46 yards away from passing John Hubert for No. 2 all-time in rushing at K-State. That means that Vaughn would sit only behind one of his childhood idols, Darren Sproles, in all-time rushing in K-State history.
"To be even close to the realm with his name here at K-State has been unreal and surreal," Vaughn says.
Vaughn continues to be surreal in his own right.
"He's the player you lay your head down at night and think of all the different ways you can get him the football," Klein says. "He's off the chart in football IQ."
"Deuce is a great, great ball player and every team is going to try to shut him down," Howard says. "Sometimes he's a dummy guy just because he's so good, but he made some really good plays the last few weeks. He's an All-American. It's really nice as a quarterback to have a dude like that back there with you that you know you can give it off to and he'll break off a 60-yard run."
Vaughn certainly presents a challenge for the Longhorns.
"I like the way Deuce plays," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian says. "He's a real versatile back. They do a really good job. They're creative with him, not just running the ball, but receiving the ball and moving him around. He's got great balance and body control and he has the ability to make you miss in tight quarters, keep his balance, and gain positive yards, but yet, he has the versatility to take it the distance. He can outrun you.
"He's a guy you definitely have to be aware of at all times."
Vaughn continues to make his presence felt every Saturday.
"He's evolved through his three years here, which it's hard to believe it's been three years," Klieman says. "When he first got here, nobody really knew much about him. He's kind of a scat back and he catches it out of the backfield, and then all the sudden, he's a complete runner, he can run inside, he can run outside, and he can catch the ball. Then you see what he's done in the pass protection as well as lead blocks. He's become a complete football player. I think that's the thing that excites him the most is people see him as a complete player because of blocks that he's made and people talking about it.
"He's also one of the greatest teammates. When somebody is down, he's one of the first guys there to try and raise their spirits."
He's a generational back at K-State. He's already one of the greats and is just the 11th player in school history and the first since Tyler Lockett in 2014 to earn Consensus All-American honors. He ranks second nationally among active players in career all-purpose yards per game (133.06), fourth among non-kickers in career points per game (7.2), fourth in total touchdowns (37), eighth in rushing yards per game (95.1), 12th in rushing touchdowns (30), and 13th in rushing yards per carry (5.8).
We are witnessing greatness each Saturday.
Sometimes it becomes easy to become numb to it all.
Nothing Deuce Vaughn does surprises us anymore. Sometimes, it's easy to take it all for granted. We see him run for a 62-yard touchdown and lay out for one of the prettiest 1-yard touchdown receptions you'll see in college football this season against No. 9 Oklahoma State, and that's Deuce, and it's just expected that the returning Consensus All-American will do something ridiculously good each and every game, that we can fall into a trap, and it becomes easy to become numb to it all.
This season, quarterbacks have shared the story of the rise of this Kansas State football team — how electric Adrian Martinez emerged as one of the most dangerous threats in the Big 12 Conference against No. 6 Oklahoma, and how Will Howard threw a school record-tying four touchdowns against the ninth-ranked Cowboys.
Meanwhile, the 5-foot-6, 176-pound Vaughn, who hasn't always been 100% healthy, keeps grinding, keeps plugging away, keeps striving to reach that next gear, and keeps igniting cheers from 51,000 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"He's a very humble guy," K-State head coach Chris Klieman says. "Even though he had 160 yards, he's not going to say, 'Boy, I've arrived.' The kid is always going to run hard and stay humble."
By now we know this about Vaughn: He deflects praise and basks in team success. And much like his height, he has uses this team-first approach as his super power. So often in this day in age, great athletes are tempted to lose themselves in individual success. Instead, Vaughn spends two minutes bragging on his offensive line, he lauds the offensive scheme devised by offensive coordinator Collin Klein, he applauds his quarterback, and thanks the K-State support staff. He revels in his teammates' accomplishments.
"I'm having the most fun playing football with these guys than I've ever had," he 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. When you have guys all over the field who can make plays and get into the end zone, anytime we celebrate in the end zone, I'm a happy person."
There was plenty of happiness to go around during a 48-0 throttling of No. 9 Oklahoma State last Saturday, which catapulted K-State from No. 22 to No. 13 in the AP Top 25 rankings. The Wildcats also debuted at No. 13 in the initial College Football Playoff Top 25 released on Tuesday.
No. 13 K-State, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12 Conference, prepares to meet Texas, 5-3 and 3-2, in Saturday's 6 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium carrying sole possession of second place in the league standings. It will serve as the latest chance for the nation to witness Vaughn and the Wildcats in action in front of a sellout crowd.
Vaughn, a native of Round Rock, Texas, has rushed for more than 100 yards against Texas in each of his two meetings against the Longhorns.
"It's 100% the offensive line," Vaughn says. "They're fighting their butts off every single play out there. Everybody is working together and it makes the job really easy."
Vaughn was named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week on Tuesday after accounting for 176 total yards and two touchdowns in the Wildcats' 48-0 win over the Cowboys. He amassed 158 rushing yards, including a 62-yard touchdown, and had four catches for 18 yards, including that 1-yard touchdown.
It marked Vaughn's fifth 100-yard rushing game this season and the 17th of his 31-game career. During the game, he passed Ell Roberson and Daniel Thomas and moved to No. 3 all-time in rushing yards (2,948) and career all-purpose yards (4,125) and into a tie for fifth place in career rushing touchdowns (30).
The fourth fastest player in the FBS since 1996 with 2,500 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a career, Vaughn is just 52 rushing yards from reaching 3,000 rushing yards. If he accomplishes that against Texas on Saturday, he would tie Saquan Barkley for the fastest Power 5 player since 1996 to reach 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards (32 games).
And here's the biggie: Vaughn is 46 yards away from passing John Hubert for No. 2 all-time in rushing at K-State. That means that Vaughn would sit only behind one of his childhood idols, Darren Sproles, in all-time rushing in K-State history.
"To be even close to the realm with his name here at K-State has been unreal and surreal," Vaughn says.
Vaughn continues to be surreal in his own right.
"He's the player you lay your head down at night and think of all the different ways you can get him the football," Klein says. "He's off the chart in football IQ."
"Deuce is a great, great ball player and every team is going to try to shut him down," Howard says. "Sometimes he's a dummy guy just because he's so good, but he made some really good plays the last few weeks. He's an All-American. It's really nice as a quarterback to have a dude like that back there with you that you know you can give it off to and he'll break off a 60-yard run."
Vaughn certainly presents a challenge for the Longhorns.
"I like the way Deuce plays," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian says. "He's a real versatile back. They do a really good job. They're creative with him, not just running the ball, but receiving the ball and moving him around. He's got great balance and body control and he has the ability to make you miss in tight quarters, keep his balance, and gain positive yards, but yet, he has the versatility to take it the distance. He can outrun you.
"He's a guy you definitely have to be aware of at all times."
Vaughn continues to make his presence felt every Saturday.
"He's evolved through his three years here, which it's hard to believe it's been three years," Klieman says. "When he first got here, nobody really knew much about him. He's kind of a scat back and he catches it out of the backfield, and then all the sudden, he's a complete runner, he can run inside, he can run outside, and he can catch the ball. Then you see what he's done in the pass protection as well as lead blocks. He's become a complete football player. I think that's the thing that excites him the most is people see him as a complete player because of blocks that he's made and people talking about it.
"He's also one of the greatest teammates. When somebody is down, he's one of the first guys there to try and raise their spirits."
He's a generational back at K-State. He's already one of the greats and is just the 11th player in school history and the first since Tyler Lockett in 2014 to earn Consensus All-American honors. He ranks second nationally among active players in career all-purpose yards per game (133.06), fourth among non-kickers in career points per game (7.2), fourth in total touchdowns (37), eighth in rushing yards per game (95.1), 12th in rushing touchdowns (30), and 13th in rushing yards per carry (5.8).
We are witnessing greatness each Saturday.
Sometimes it becomes easy to become numb to it all.
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