These fun stories reveal how K-State star Deuce Vaughn took college football by storm

What is your favorite Deuce Vaughn story?

It’s a question that has been asked tirelessly in Kansas State football circles since Vaughn joined the team two years ago and immediately began making defenders look foolish.

Because of his small frame, few expected the 5-foot-6 running back from Round Rock, Texas to excel at the college level, let alone become the face of a Big 12 team before the start of his junior season. But here he is now, a consensus All-American with 3,093 all-purpose yards and 31 touchdowns to his name. It’s not hyperbole to say the Wildcats will go as far as he can take them this season.

His journey to this point has been improbable and highly entertaining. People like to tell stories about Vaughn for that reason.

This is a story about those stories.

The moment they knew Vaughn was special

Daniel Green remembers exactly what he was doing when he first realized that Vaughn was going to be an elite football player.

He was chewing out his fellow linebackers at a K-State football practice in the summer of 2020. Why? None of them could seem to tackle to Vaughn.

“He was torching us at practice,” Green says now. “He scored touchdowns on back-to-back plays in a mock game and I was like, ‘Come on guys, he’s just a freshman.’ I remember thinking there’s no way he was really that good. We just weren’t accounting for him on defense. Once we started doing that, I figured we would stop him.”

Vaughn’s first touchdown of the afternoon came on an outside run in which he slipped past a defender on the edge and then outran everyone to the end zone. On the very next play, he caught a pass in the flats and made another defender miss on his way to another score.

Enough was enough. As the defense huddled before the next play, everyone was reminded to keep their eyes on Vaughn. If he scored again there would be consequences.

“Then they gave it to him on a run up the middle and he scored on us again,” Green said. “Just right up the gut. There was nothing we could have really done about it. It was at that point I realized, ‘OK, this guy is going to be special.’”

Hard as it may be to believe, there were still some holdouts.

K-State assistant head coach Van Malone used to coach one of Vaughn’s harshest critics in the secondary. Every time the team’s cornerbacks watched video replays of Vaughn making big plays in practice, one member of the group refused to show him love.

“One of the corners said, ‘Oh no, he’s too small. He’ll never make it in this league,’” Malone said. “Everyone in the room looked at this guy and they mumbled under their breath. They mumbled, ‘This guy is an idiot.’ Well, a few weeks later he was in college football games and he was still doing it. So that cornerback, who shall remain nameless, has changed his tune several times since that first moment.”

Former K-State quarterback Skylar Thompson knew his defensive counterparts were in for a surprise long before that.

He recalls inviting Vaughn to a seven-on-seven workout at a Manhattan park during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Their goal was merely to stay sharp before the start of organized practices later in the summer.

No one was trying to impress a coach or win a starting job. It was literally the first time Thompson would be throwing a pass to Vaughn. There was no glory to be claimed that day.

Or so it seemed.

Vaughn was the talk of the group after he ran routes and caught passes like a seasoned pro. Thompson was so impressed that he texted K-State running backs coach Brian Anderson to inform him the Wildcats had found a star.

“The future is bright for him,” Thompson said. “He is just getting started and only scratching the surface of what he can accomplish. There is no ceiling for Deuce Vaughn.”

If Vaughn put pressure on himself to make a good first impression at that workout, it didn’t show.

His father, Chris, remembers another time when Vaughn was asked to show off his skills for the first time in front of an audience. This was way back when he was in elementary school and Chris was working as an assistant football coach at Arkansas.

Houston Nutt, who was coaching the Razorbacks at the time, invited some children out to practice to help remind his players that football was a kid’s game, meant to be fun. Vaughn was one of them. He was supposed to stop by and catch a few passes in front of the entire Arkansas team.

Vaughn’s father wasn’t sure how things would go. Up until that point, Vaughn had only played flag football and his family thought his athletic future might be in soccer. What if he wasn’t ready for the moment?

“I was nervous for him,” Vaughn’s father said. “I was worried he might drop every ball that came his way. But when they brought him out in front of the team he caught every pass the coaches tossed. I guess that’s the first time the stage wasn’t too big.”

Too many highlights to choose from

Even after just two years of college football it’s difficult for anyone to agree on Deuce Vaughn’s top highlight with the Wildcats.

“There are way too many to choose from,” K-State defensive tackle Eli Huggins said. “That’s like asking someone to choose their favorite song.”

Still, Harry Trotter doesn’t hesitate when he is asked to single out Vaughn’s best play in a purple uniform. For him, there was nothing better than the time Vaughn reeled off a 28-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma as a freshman. It happened in the fourth quarter. It erased a three touchdown deficit. It helped lift the Wildcats pull off a wild 38-35 comeback victory over the mighty Sooners.

Impressive as that play was, it is an interesting choice from Trotter. After all, that run wasn’t exactly great news for him. He was K-State’s top running back that season. Or at least he was before Vaughn amassed 164 yards and scored that day.

“As soon as that game ended,” Trotter said, “I remember thinking, ‘Well, I’m never starting again.’”

That didn’t bother Trotter, though, because he could tell Vaughn was ready to shine. They remain friends today.

That just goes to show, there is no such thing as a bad touchdown run from Vaughn.

After a great deal of thought, Huggins admits that he occasionally logs on to YouTube and watches replays of the times Vaughn has made KU linebacker Gavin Potter whiff on open-field tackles.

“He juked that guy out of his shoes,” Huggins said. “Given that he has a little history with K-State, that’s got to be a good memory for all Cat fans.”

Cooper Beebe says he has never had more fun blocking for anyone than Vaughn.

His big-play ability is the stuff offensive linemen dream about. Make a block, open up a hole and then sit back and relax as you watch your running back take a handoff to the house. That is exactly what Beebe did during last season’s opener against Stanford when Vaughn scored on a 59-yard run late in the second quarter.

“We were running an inside zone and he breaks one,” Beebe said. “I just jogged off to the sideline. My job was done. I got myself a drink.”

Vaughn’s father decided to go a different way with his answer. Even though he has loved all of Vaughn’s touchdown runs with the Wildcats, he thinks a tackle he made in high school was even more impressive.

Wait, what? A tackle?

“His team had an interception and Deuce was the guy who ran the length of the field to make the tackle and prevent a touchdown,” Vaughn’s father said. “I make that point, because the biggest plays for me are the ones you make without the football. That shows what kind of teammate you are and what kind of character you have.”

Sam Robinson, who coached Vaughn at Cedar Ridge High School, can tell you infinite stories about the times that Vaughn set yardage records with his team. He once ran for 406 yards in a single game.

“He was a threat to score every time he touched the ball,” Robinson said. “Even when it looked like a play was dead he could make something out of nothing.”

Now that he has moved on to K-State, one of Robinson’s favorite things to do is monitor the way defenses line up against Vaughn. He remembers watching the Wildcats move Vaughn into the slot in the fourth quarter of a close game against Texas Tech.

Robinson noticed the Red Raiders were going to try and defend him one-on-one with a linebacker. He then turned to his son and told him Vaughn was about to score a touchdown. Sure enough, Vaughn caught a short pass from Will Howard and broke free for a 70-yard score that clinched a K-State victory.

“He is a matchup nightmare,” Robinson said. “There isn’t a linebacker in the country who can defend him on that kind of play. It’s not even fair.”

Working for the weekend

At the end of his freshman season with the Wildcats, coaches were surprised to learn how much time Vaughn spent watching film on his own away from the team.

Players are allowed to download everything from practice replays to game highlights on tablets and study them at home. When they are returned to the football offices, coaches can see exactly how long players spent honing their craft. As you might expect, seniors typically log the most hours and freshmen bring up the rear.

That was not the case with Vaughn. He ranked second on the entire team.

“The amazing thing about Deuce is that he is always working to get better,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “He seems to enjoy the weekly process of preparing for a game more than he does actually playing on Saturdays.”

Anderson says K-State coaches use Vaughn’s work ethic as an example for everyone on the roster.

Not only does he know his responsibilities as a running back and as a receiver, he can break down defenses simply by looking at them before the snap.

“I’ve never had a guy that has been a complete package like him,” Anderson said. “That’s where he’s so different. He’s so smart. That’s the thing that sometimes doesn’t get noticed is how smart he is as a football player. He can see things happen before it happens, because he studies so much.”

Vaughn does his homework year round. Even after he has analyzed a practice and broken it down on video with his position group he will go over it again by himself late at night, sometimes calling his father for extra advice.

This is a habit Vaughn developed after his father told him to treat football like an ATM machine. The more you work during the week, the more money you can deposit into your account and ultimately withdraw on game days in the form of touchdowns.

Vaughn’s father works as a scout with the Dallas Cowboys, so he has access to all of K-State’s game footage. That gave Vaughn a head start as a high school senior. Shortly after he committed to the Wildcats, coaches told him to start studying the playbook. So he spent hours breaking down old games and seeing exactly what the team’s plays looked like on paper and on video.

By the time he moved to Manhattan, he knew more about the offense than some upperclassmen.

“I guess that’s one of the perks of having a dad who is a college football scout,” Vaughn’s father said. “We went right to it. He took notes in a notebook that he still uses to this day. When he landed on campus, he knew exactly what was going on.”

Making new memories

That comes as no surprise to Adrian Martinez.

“There’s little moments where you see it either in person or you’re watching the film back and you’re like, ‘I don’t think there’s anyone else that can make that cut or get between that hole,’” Martinez said. “We will take our chances with Deuce in space.”

Vaughn was one of the first players that Kansas State’s new starting quarterback reached out to for advice when it came time for him to learn the Wildcats’ offense earlier this year.

Not that he needed much help.

There is nothing complicated about K-State’s offense. The Wildcats like to get the ball to Vaughn. When they do, people usually end up telling stories about what happens next.