By: Austin Siegel
The first thing Deuce Vaughn told his Dad after he became the only true freshman in K-State history to score a touchdown in a season opener was that he left some yards on the field.
They talk every day, the football player and the football scout, ever since Deuce arrived in Manhattan from Round Rock, Texas, where his Dad, Chris Vaughn, is a scout for the Dallas Cowboys.
It was on those phone calls that Chris Vaughn began to realize just how big a role his son might have in the Wildcats season opener against Arkansas State.
"Deuce is a pretty humble kid, so as a former coach, I'm trying to listen to how they're using him," Vaughn said. "He's telling me his version of practice because I'm not there to watch, so what he's telling me sounds pretty good, but I'm like well OK, that's his version."
On Saturday, Chris Vaughn sat with his family behind the north endzone at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and figured his son would play against Arkansas State.
He ended up doing a little more than that.
There was Vaughn on his first run, making an Arkansas State player miss for a first down.
On his first reception, Vaughn took a screen pass for 24 yards and FOX announcer Gus Johnson did that thing where it seems like he's trying to start a car with Vaughn's last name:
"They swing it out. Here's Deuce Vaaaaughn. Deuce VAAAAUGHN. Uh oh folks, we might have a player at Kansas State that's going to get us to Manhattan a whole lot."
The Wildcats were driving towards the north endzone and Vaughn's family on that drive, but the field flipped at the end of the first quarter.
A few plays later, Vaughn scored his first touchdown as a Wildcat.
"My wife might not have made it if we were behind that endzone," Chris Vaughn said. "She might have jumped on the field. She was pretty excited."
It was the kind of moment that's become more and more exclusive to college football.
In the NFL, every draft pick has their college tape and preseason games analyzed and debated for months before they make their debut.
Chris Klieman called Vaughn a "matchup nightmare" this summer and listed him as a backup running back, but most K-State fans watched Vaughn play for the first time on Saturday.
"I went to bed dreaming about scoring my first touchdown," Vaughn said after the game. "It's surreal. When I got the opportunity and got in the endzone, I didn't know what to think. It was like monkey brain. I'm just so excited and looking forward to doing it over and over again."
DEUUUUUUUUCE#KStateFB ⚒ @C_Vaughn22 pic.twitter.com/GtT1dLcrL5
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) September 12, 2020
The only people in Manhattan on Saturday who had seen Vaughn do that before – 50 times in a standout career at Cedar Ridge High School – were his family sitting behind the north endzone.
In fact, one of the reasons that Vaughn was in a K-State uniform at all on Saturday is because Manhattan isn't a place where his Dad has many connections in a long and winding football life.
Chris Vaughn has spent 18 seasons on college sidelines at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Memphis and Texas as an assistant coach.
"K-State was one of the only schools that offered him early that I didn't have a connection to," Chris Vaughn said. "And then I found out that Brian Anderson is on the staff – and I've known Brian for 20 years – but at the time, a lot of the other schools that offered him had people that I had worked with…I think it was one of the first places where he felt like he got this on his own."
The Wildcats still had to convince Vaughn and his family that Manhattan was a place where he would have a role in the offense and a fit within the school and K-State community.
"When I got to my junior year, a lot of coaches reached out and it was like, 'We're a little concerned about your height and weight.' Well, I can't control my height," Vaughn said. "I really feel like it's my superpower. That's something my Dad always told me…I feel like I can use that to my advantage, whether it's hiding behind the O-linemen or when I squirt out to the open field and make a move."
On a recruiting visit to another program, Vaughn brought along his Dad, where they chatted with the head coach about what role he envisioned for the 5-foot-5 running back in his offense.
"It was more of a gadget role, and as a coach, if that's your role, that guy can get lost on the call sheet," Chris Vaughn said. "Maybe it's not the right time to run that play or as you get into the flow of the game, you might not get in if that's your only role."
Having a Dad with experience parsing through the language of play-calling ("That's more of a specialty role as a returner, a reverse and bubble game") would be an advantage for any high school recruit.
But with a visit to K-State on Vaughn's calendar in April, his Dad was preparing for the 2019 NFL Draft with the Cowboys. When he made the trip to Manhattan, Vaughn brought along his Mom.
Just a few hours into their visit, Chris Vaughn got a phone call.
"She called me and said, 'This is the place.'" Chris Vaughn said. "Everyone knew who he was, and they called Deuce by his name, it was like everyone was just waiting for him to get here."
Before Vaughn signed with the Wildcats, he returned to campus for a football game. His first Saturday afternoon in Manhattan helped seal the deal for the newest member of the K-State backfield.
"I think it was a Thursday night and we went down to Aggieville to eat. There were just swarms of people in purple walking around and talking about the game. We go into a restaurant to eat and the band comes in and starts playing," Vaughn said. "45 minutes before game time and the stadium is packed. Whenever I dreamed of playing college football, this is exactly what I saw."
Electric. Explosive. Elusive
Deuce Vaughn (@C_Vaughn22) ✍️
📄 https://t.co/fgAIdosEHo#KStateFB ⚒ #NSD20 pic.twitter.com/MZCqOLMDsP
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 18, 2019
Stepping onto the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium as a true freshman less than a year later, Vaughn joined a small group of Wildcats who have contributed in their first game.
Not that this bit of history came up in the postgame phone call with his Dad.
"The first thing he said when we talked after the game was, 'I left some yards out on the field, could've cut back on this one, I missed that pass protection.' I think that's tough for a lot of coaches who are also Dads," Chris Vaughn said. "He understands when you don't win a game, all the personal accolades and the success you had as a player is second to winning or losing."
It will be the first of many phone calls for the football player and the football scout this season, when Deuce Vaughn won't catch any Big 12 defenses by surprise.
The freshman will have to adjust to teams with a game plan to slow him down, but you don't get on the field in the first game of your freshman season without some incredible maturity.
Vaughn didn't hesitate to share where that comes from.
"Without a doubt, my Dad," he said. "Just being around the game for that long and seeing the preparation of those kids when I was [growing up], players like Quandre Diggs and Chris Houston. Knowing whenever I get my opportunity, if I act like them, I would have success."
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