Deuce Vaughn

Christopher "Deuce" Vaughn II (born November 2, 2001) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Denver Broncos. Vaughn is known for being the shortest running back to ever be drafted in the NFL.

Early life Vaughn moved frequently growing up due to his father's occupation as a college football coach before settling in Round Rock, Texas, and attended Cedar Ridge High School, where he played football and ran track.

As a junior, he collected 1,901 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 9 receptions, 159 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He received honorable-mention all-state honors from the Texas Sports Writers Association.

As a senior, Vaughn broke Cedar Ridge's single-season rushing record with 1,938 yards, while having 589 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns. He rushed for 375 yards against Round Rock High School and 302 yards with 5 touchdowns against Westwood High School. He received his second straight District 13-6A Offensive MVP award.

He finished his high school career with 4,405 rushing yards and 38 rushing touchdowns, 914 receiving yards, 11 receiving touchdowns, 153 return yards and 5,472 all-purpose yards. Despite his size, Vaughn was a 3-star recruit who received multiple scholarship offers from programs like Air Force, Arkansas, Army, Kansas, Missouri, North Texas, South Florida, UTSA, and Wyoming, with preferred walk-on offers from Baylor, Oklahoma State, New Mexico, Texas Christian, and Virginia Tech.

College career 2020 season Vaughn accepted a football scholarship from Kansas State University. He entered his freshman season as one of the Wildcats' top running backs and became the team's starter over Harry Trotter early in the season. He had three games on the season going over 100 rushing yards: Texas Tech, Baylor, and Texas. He recorded a 129-yard receiving game against Oklahoma.

He registered 123 carries for 642 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions for 434 yards, two receiving touchdowns, and seven kickoff returns for 145 yards. He was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year and second-team All-Conference.

2021 season Vaughn entered his sophomore season on the watch list for the Doak Walker Award. He tallied 235 carries for 1,404 yards (6-yard avg.), 18 rushing touchdowns, 49 receptions for 468 yards (9-yard avg.) and four receiving touchdowns. He had nine games on the year going over 100 rushing yards to go with one game going over 100 receiving yards.

He posted 162 rushing yards (career-high), 70 receiving yards, and three rushing touchdowns, including an 80-yard touchdown run against Kansas. He had 146 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown in the 2022 Texas Bowl 42–20 win against LSU. He was named as a Consensus All-American.

2022 season As a junior, he recorded 293 carries for 1,558 yards (5.3-yard avg.), nine rushing touchdowns, 42 receptions for 378 yards (9-yard avg.), three receiving touchdowns and 1,936 all-purpose yards. He became the third player in school history with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons and the first player with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a career.

He had 147 rushing yards and a touchdown in the regular-season finale against the Kansas. He tallied 130 rushing yards and one touchdown in the Big 12 Championship Game 31–28 overtime victory against TCU. He had 133 rushing yards, including an 88-yard touchdown, in the 45–20 2022 Sugar Bowl loss against Alabama. At the end of the season, he chose to forgo his senior season to enter the 2023 NFL draft.

He finished his college career with 651 carries (second in school history), 3,604 rushing yards (second in school history), 5.5-yard average, 34 rushing touchdowns, twenty one 100-yard rushing games (second in school history), 116 receptions for 1,280 yards (11-yard avg.), 9 receiving touchdowns, 7 kickoff returns for 145 yards (20.7-yard avg.), 5,029 all-purpose yards (third in school history), 258 points scored (sixth in school history) and 279 rushing yards in bowl games (school record). He was one of just two Big 12 players to ever register 3,600 rushing yards and 1,250 receiving yards in a career (DeMarco Murray). He was named a consensus All-American for the 2022 season.

College statistics Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Kick returns GP GS Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Ret Yds Avg TD 2020 Kansas State 10 7 123 642 5.2 7 25 434 17.4 2 7 145 20.7 0 2021 Kansas State 13 13 235 1,404 6.0 18 49 468 9.6 4 0 0 0.0 0 2022 Kansas State 12 12 293 1,558 5.3 9 40 348 8.7 3 0 0 0.0 0Career 35 32 651 3,604 5.5 34 114 1,250 10.9 9 7 145 20.7 0

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys Vaughn was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round (212th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. His father, who is a scout for the Cowboys, called Vaughn to tell him he had been drafted. With a measurement at the combine of 5'5", Vaughn became the shortest running back ever drafted since the NFL began tracking the combine. On January 3, 2024, he was placed on the reserve/injured list with an ankle injury. He appeared in seven games as a third-string running back, compiling 23 rushes for 40 yards, seven receptions for 40 yards and four punt returns for 19 yards. He was declared inactive in nine games.

In 2024, he appeared in eight games as a backup running back and was declared inactive in nine games. He registered 17 carries for 70 yards and three receptions for 18 yards.

On August 26, 2025, Vaughn was waived by the Cowboys as part of final roster cuts.

Denver Broncos On September 9, 2025, Vaughn was signed to the Denver Broncos' practice squad. On January 26, 2026, he signed a futures contract with the Broncos. On May 12, Vaughn was waived by the Broncos following the signing of Michael Woods II.

Orlando Storm On May 30, 2026, Vaughn signed with the Orlando Storm of the United Football League (UFL).

Houston Texans On August 24, 2026, Vaughn signed with the Houston Texans but was waived five days later.

NFL career statistics Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Punt returns Fumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Ret Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2023 DAL 7 0 23 40 1.7 13 0 7 40 5.7 11 0 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0 2024 DAL 7 0 17 70 4.1 12 0 3 18 6.0 8 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 Career 14 0 40 110 2.8 13 0 10 58 5.8 11 0 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0

Personal life Vaughn's father, Chris, played college football at Murray State and is a scout for the Dallas Cowboys after previously working as an assistant coach at Arkansas, Ole Miss, Memphis and Texas. Deuce was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.