Bucky Brooks: 'Deuce Vaughn is electric'
Coming out of Kansas State, former Wildcats’ superstar running back Deuce Vaughn stamped his name all over the record books in Manhattan. He hung up his cleats there as one of the greatest running backs in school history.
Early in his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, Vaughn has left little doubt that he’ll continue to be a superstar at the NFL level. The electrifying tailback shined in his preseason debut against the Jaguars with a number of highlight reel moves that left fans shaking their heads in amazement.
NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks was among the many people impressed with the former KSU star, and he joined NFL Total Access on Wednesday evening to talk about it.
Here’s the brief audio clip below.
Brooks spoke with NFL Network’s Jane Slater on NFL Total Access.
“And as you pointed out about Deuce Vaughn, being on the call, Deuce Vaughn is electric. And he’s even better than I thought, because I thought he was an edge runner that did all these tricks and gadgets, but no, he’s a downhill player,” Brooks continued.
“Part of the reason why Zeke Elliott made it to New England was after seeing Deuce Vaughn go, maybe the Cowboys are like, we’re good with our running game. Mike McCarthy wants to run the football, but now he has two young scatbacks to do it. We’ll see if they can hold up over a 17-game season. This is a different running game, but it’s one that is very important to the way that they play,” Brooks said on NFL Total Access.
If their offensive line can hold up, the Cowboys backfield should be one of the most dynamic in the NFL with Tony Pollard and Deuce Vaughn.
Deuce Vaughn had a record-setting career at Kansas State
Vaughn is the first Kansas State running back to be taken in the NFL Draft since Bryce Brown was selected in the seventh round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012.
In 2011, Daniel Thomas was picked in the second round by the Miami Dolphins.
Vaughn is a Round Rock, Texas native that was a staple of the K-State offense all three seasons in Manhattan. As a true freshman in 2020, Vaughn ran for 642 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 434 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The Big 12 coaches named Vaughn Freshman of the Year in the league and 247Sports named him True Freshman of the Year in 2020. Phil Steele and Pro Football Focus named Vaughn an honorable mention All-American the same season.
2021 was just as successful for Vaughn.
In his sophomore campaign, the Kansas State back ran for 1,404 yards and 18 touchdowns and added 468 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Five different publications listed Vaughn as either a first or second Team All-American for his effort in 2021.
Pro Football Focus also named him the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
He ran for a career-high 1,558 yards in 2022 and added nine more rushing touchdowns to his total, along with 378 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Four publications named Vaughn a first-team All-American for his 2022 season.
Despite being the shortest player in NFL Combine history, he had a successful workout. Vaughn was great in the drill work, which led him to get drafted. At the K-State Pro Day, he ran a 4.56 second 40-yard dash.
On3’s Drew Galloway also contributed to this article.