K-State football stars Deuce Vaughn, Josh Hayes selected in late rounds of NFL Draft

One of the best running backs in Kansas State history has found a new home in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys selected Deuce Vaughn with the No. 212 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2023 draft on Saturday at Union Station in Kansas City.

Vaughn, a 5-foot-5 versatile ball-carrier, turned himself into a pro prospect during three seasons at K-State by rushing for a whopping 3,604 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Wildcats. He twice earned All-America honors and now figures to make an impact for his new team.

This seems like a perfect pro destination for Vaughn. Not only did he grow up dreaming about playing for the Cowboys as he attended high school in Round Rock, Texas, but his father works for the team as a scout.

Now, they are suddenly on the same team as father and son.

It will be interesting to see how the Cowboys use Vaughn. They could deploy him as a scatback, which would allow him to make plays out of the backfield on third downs and possibly on kick returns. Or they could deploy him as a do-everything back behind starter Tony Pollard, which is what he was in college.

Vaughn is certainly capable of doing it all.

Not only can he run between the tackles for big yardage, he is also excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield and offers upside on special teams. He could be a very valuable weapon for a creative offensive coordinator.

He wasn’t the only K-State football player to get selected in the late rounds on Saturday. Josh Hayes, a 6-foot and 189-pound defensive back, also became a sixth-round pick when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the No. 181 overall pick earlier in the day.

It came as a surprise that Hayes went before Vaughn. But it is absolutely no shock that a NFL team wanted him. Hayes was a standout safety at K-State during his lone season in Manhattan. He piled up 71 tackles and forced one fumble as a member of Joe Klanderman’s defense.

K-State has now produced four picks in this NFL Draft, with Felix Anudike-Uzomah going in the first round to the Kansas City Chiefs and Julius Brents going in the second round to the Indianapolis Colts.

This is the most draft picks K-State has produced in a NFL Draft since 2003.

Interestingly, all four players were selected by the NFL team located closest to their home towns.