For a lot of prospective NFL players, hearing a team selected them is portrayed as an emotional roller coaster. One need look not further than the reactions of Anthony Richardson and Jalen Carter when they were picked in the top 10 of the 2023 NFL Draft.
But their dad being in the room of the team that selected them? That must be another feeling entirely.
That’s how it went for former Kansas State running back Deuce Vaughn, who was selected 212th overall in Round 6 by the Dallas Cowboys on Day 3.
MORE: Chris Vaughn’s emotional reaction to Cowboys selecting his son, Deuce Vaughn
Although the pick came late, it was what preceded it that made it so special. Moments before Vaughn was selected, his father and Cowboys scout Chris Vaughn called him to give him draft advice. Jerry Jones then told Chris they were going to be selecting Deuce, leading to an especially touching moment.
Before Deuce Vaughn was officially drafted, his dad and Cowboys scout Chris gave him a beautiful call.
The moment Jerry Jones told Chris his son was going to be a Cowboy? Priceless. 🥲 @C_Vaughn22 (via @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/BBhZq9MXmg
— NFL (@NFL) May 2, 2023
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Chris’ words to Deuce were prescient in their own right.
“That’s right son, listen to me,” he told him at the Cowboys facility. “This is the trips in the car. This is the continuation, but when we start playing football everything takes care of itself. OK? I’m proud of you, all those people in the house are proud of you. OK? Just understand. It ain’t when it’s where.”
As it turned out, the when was at 212. The where was in Dallas.
Vaughn joins a Cowboys running back room that got a bit lighter with Ezekiel Elliott walking this offseason. Tony Pollard, Ronald Jones, and Malik Davis will now battle it out with Vaughn for roster spots on a team that is known to make the most of its running back production not just at RB1, but down the depth chart.
Adding to the moment was Chris getting on the phone with Deuce to ask him if “you want to come and work with me next week” before Deuce replied “I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
#CowboysNation, get your tissues ready 🥹🤧
Chris Vaughn of the scouting department made the call to his son, @C_Vaughn22, to tell him he’s officially a member of the #DallasCowboys 📞#CowboysDraft | @ATT pic.twitter.com/MszgQpRmhl
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) April 30, 2023
Vaughn rushed for over 1,400 yards in each of the past two seasons, and he had 27 touchdowns combined in the last two years. While his size (5-feet-6-inches, 172 pounds) may have had something to do with him being available in the sixth round, he was a proven producer for a Wildcat team that won the Big 12 last year by defeating previously-undefeated TCU.
The potential is there, and obviously the Cowboys saw it. But beyond all of the X’s and O’s, it’s just an incredible father and son moment and the culmination of a ton of hard work.
Published at Wed, 03 May 2023 00:04:27 +0000
