Vickiel Vaughn

Vickiel Vaughn (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional football safety. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football at Arkansas.

Early life Vaughn attended Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas. Rated as one of the nation's top 25 football players by The Sporting News and one of the top 125 by USA Today, Vaughn caught 25 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns in his senior year as a wide receiver. That same season as a defensive back, Vaughn made 67 tackles and six interceptions. Rivals100.com ranked Vaughn second among all high school safeties. Vaughn participated in the 2002 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game in San Antonio, Texas.

College career Vaughn played college football for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks from 2002 to 2005, all under head coach Houston Nutt. Vaughn appeared in all 14 games for Arkansas as a true freshman in 2002. Primarily, Vaughn played on punt returns and kickoff coverage. He made three tackles throughout the course of the season, including two in special teams action. He had one solo stop against Minnesota in the 2002 Music City Bowl.

In the 2006 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Vaughn in the seventh round as the 254th overall pick. The 49ers placed Vaughn on injured reserve on September 2, 2006, the day after Vaughn injured his finger in the 49ers' final preseason game. After the season, the 49ers allocated Vaughn to the NFL Europe's Berlin Thunder.

On December 31, 2007, the Denver Broncos signed Vaughn to a reserve/futures contract. The Broncos waived Vaughn on June 13, 2008. On August 1, the Broncos replaced safety John Lynch with Vaughn, then waived Vaughn on August 30. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad on December 9, 2008.

In 2010, Vaughn made his professional debut with the Indoor Football League (IFL)'s Arkansas Diamonds. Vaughn played in 8 regular season games and had 28 tackles, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown), and 5 passes defended. In the IFL's Intense Conference, Arkansas finished 11-3 and first in the Lonestar East division. Vaughn played in three playoff games and had 11 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 passes defended. Arkansas advanced to the IFL semifinals and lost to the Billings Outlaws 53–42 on July 10, 2010.

Vaughn returned to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to finish his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He graduated in 2012 and worked for Williams Sonoma for a year after graduating.