NFL Draft's 'Feel Good' Story from Cowboys Has Hogs' Connection

Deuce Vaughn grew up in SEC towns in Fayetteville and Oxford now joins dad in Dallas

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
May 1, 2023 12:42 PM EDT
Original:
Apr 30, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILE, Ark. — While it's certainly one of those "feel good" moments from NFL Draft, don't expect Deuce Vaughn to be replacing Tony Pollard behind Dak Prescott in Dallas anytime soon. That rarely happens in that league with 5-foot-5 running backs taken in the sixth round.

When former Houston Nutt assistant Chris Vaughn, who was a grad assistant with the Razorbacks and on the staff before going to Ole Miss with Nutt, got to make the phone call to his son that he was going to be a sixth round draft pick of the Cowboys. Vaughn is in the scouting department with Dallas and the video went viral on social media.

In 2019, Vaughn received an offer from former Razorbacks coach Chad Morris. He played at Kansas State and racked up 1,936 yards last year to lead the country and got some sort of All-American recognition three straight seasons. Not once did he fall below 1,000 yards in rushing his entire time at Kansas State and had huge jumps in production each year he was there.

He could be useful in several different areas for the Cowboys, particularly in some third-down situations.

Part of the biggest drama going on with many Arkansas pro fans' favorite team is whether they will bring back former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott after announcing they were cutting the veteran back mid-March. However, Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones didn't rule out signing Elliott again this summer.

"Ship has not sailed," Jerry Jones told Dallascowboys.com. "We haven't made a decision. We've obviously drafted a running back, a little different style than Zeke, but it doesn't change … For us, as far as our interest in Zeke nothing we did today changes that."

But it was one of those nice little things with Vaughn getting to make the phone call to his son and for the Cowboys' staff gathered in the war room in The Star in Frisco, Texas, there was some emotion.

Don't forget, though, that many all-purpose yards can come in handy in a lot of areas for an NFL team and the Cowboys' staff is pretty familiar with him.