At 5-foot-5, son of Dallas Cowboys scout makes big impact for K-State in win over TCU
Chris Vaughn’s day job took him to the Atlanta area this weekend. He’s the Dallas Cowboys’ southeast area scout and business duties called for him to attend the Tennessee-Georgia game. But Vaughn kept his eyes on the Kansas State-TCU game in Fort Worth.
His son, Deuce (Christopher II), has become one of Kansas State’s biggest playmakers early on this season. And the true freshman out of Round Rock Cedar Ridge made his presence felt in K-State’s 21-14 victory over TCU, contributing 30% of the offensive yards.
“Deuce was fired up and excited for the win,” Chris told the Star-Telegram on Sunday. “He understands that even though there wasn’t millions of yards in the game, that’s a big win in that atmosphere against that team on the road. He grasps how big of a win it was for the team.”
K-State started true freshman quarterback Will Howard with senior Skylar Thompson out with an injury. Howard held his own but, as stated, it wasn’t an impressive day offensively for either team.
K-State finished with 289 yards of total offense with Deuce contributing 88 yards (45 receiving, 43 rushing).
Vaughn’s lone reception went for 45 yards during a 91-yard TD drive by the Wildcats in the first half. Even though he didn’t score, Vaughn has become known for his home-run ability and showcased it on that play.
The 5-foot-5 Vaughn is a matchup problem for defenses. He entered the game having consecutive games with 70-plus yard receptions against Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
“That was a good play when they needed it,” Chris said. “Any explosive plays against that defense is huge. Coach [Gary] Patterson does a great job and that’s a tremendous win for K-State.”
That was Deuce’s longest play of the day but he contributed all day.
Deuce had a scary moment in the first half when TCU safety Ar’Darius Washington was called for targeting on a play that involved helmet-to-helmet contact. But Deuce bounced up after the play unscathed.
“As a small player, you’ve got to be able to show that type of toughness,” Chris said. “Those are things that get questioned. It was good to see him bounce up.”
Deuce showed his toughness late in the game, too, with solid runs. He rushed three times for 27 yards on K-State’s final offensive possession, which took time off the clock and helped the field position battle.
Those runs played a part as to why TCU took over on its own 4 yard line with just 1:05 remaining to march down the field for a possible game-tying touchdown. The Frogs were unsuccessful.
In the end, Chris was pleased to see his son with another solid game early in his college career. Deuce is a kid who wasn’t heavily recruited by Texas-based schools coming out of high school.
Given how much talent there is in the state, Patterson said before the game, TCU isn’t able to recruit and offer every player. Nobody understands that better than Chris, who spent 18 years coaching in the college ranks before joining the Cowboys in 2016.
Among Chris’ stops included a stint on Charlie Strong’s staff at the University of Texas from 2014-15. So he knows why his son — who is listed at 5-foot-5, 168 pounds — landed at an out-of-state school.
“There’s just so many athletes in Texas, you can’t recruit them all, especially skill guys,” Chris said. “You start to wean them out based on height, weight, speed. ... For every Darren Sproles or Dat Nguyen, there’s 50 of them that aren’t those guys with the same measurables.
“You just have to make an educated guess when you’re out recruiting and sometimes the intangibles are hard to know. You can’t put a number on work ethic or football intelligence or grit.”
