Cowboys scout Chris Vaughn was as surprised as his son, Deuce, when the team decided to draft the Kansas State running back.
The Cowboys used a sixth-round pick on Deuce on Sunday.
“Over the past 21 years of my life and to see [his father] react the way that he did, I’m not going to lie,” Deuce said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “It was a tearjerker.”
Chris Vaughn, the Cowboys’ assistant director of college scouting, had the honor of calling his son with the news. Deuce and the rest of the family were back home in Austin watching the draft and waiting for the call.
“Look here, man, do you want to come to work with me next week?” Vaughn, his voice cracking, asked his son from the team’s draft room.
“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” Deuce answered.
Everyone in the team’s draft room gave the selection a standing ovation. Owner Jerry Jones and coach Mike McCarthy later said it was as special as any pick they have ever made.
Chris Vaughn agreed.
“That’s the best one I ever made,” Chris said, his voice cracking again. “You know, I told somebody he’s the hardest worker I know; I just happened to be his father. It’s really refreshing to see that that’s what this league is made of. Of guys that you can’t put a measurement on. That’s what he’s always been. I expect him to be that when he gets his opportunity that he’s earned as a player just doing it the right way.”
Deuce is only 5 foot 5, 179 pounds but had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and earned All-America honors both seasons. He finished his career with 651 carries for 3,604 yards and 34 touchdowns and made 116 receptions for 1,280 yards and nine touchdowns.
Deuce Vaughn calls being drafted by his father’s team “a tearjerker” originally appeared on Pro Football Talk