Deuce Vaughn missed part of K-State’s last game for ‘unbelievably frustrating’ reason
Kansas State fans everywhere held their breath when Deuce Vaughn exited the Wildcats’ football game against Tulane last week.
His departure happened midway through the third quarter, and he was immediately escorted to the locker room. Was he injured? If so, how severely? If not, could he return? Many also wondered how K-State would get by without its star running back in a close game.
The good news: Vaughn was fine. He left the field because of leg cramps and spent time in the locker room getting intravenous fluids pumped into his arm. The bad news: Tulane went on to win 17-10.
Vaughn missed more than six minutes of action in the third quarter and almost two more in the fourth quarter before he came sprinting back onto the turf at Bill Snyder Family Stadium as K-State fans chanted his name. Still, it wasn’t a pleasant experience for Vaughn.
“Unbelievably frustrating,” he said afterward.
Fair or not, Vaughn blamed himself for the loss. He also vowed never to let cramps knock him out of a game again.
“I was battling through some things throughout the week,” Vaughn said. “I had to take some medication and didn’t end up upping my fluid intake as well. It was something I will be much more proactive about this week.”
Vaughn began suffering from leg cramps early in the third quarter against the Green Wave, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle so he stayed in the game and handled the vast majority of K-State’s rushing load. As the game wore on, though, the situation got worse, which helps explain why he rushed for a season-low 81 yards.
Midway through the third quarter he felt both his legs start cramping at the end of an eight-yard run. He tried drinking water and other liquids on the sideline, but his cramps persisted.
“It was one of the things where as I was running off the field I could feel my legs locking up with every step,” Vaughn said. “At that point my calves were pretty much balled up, and it was one of those things where they said, ‘For you to feel better we have to put an IV in you.’”
That meant Vaughn had to leave the field and get to the locker room. D.J. Giddens took over at running back.
Vaughn moved as quickly as possible and tried to accelerate the hydration process after he exited the field, but he encountered several speed bumps.
The K-State medical staff struggled to locate a vein for the IV fluids in either of Vaughn’s arms. He said they failed four times with his right arm. The longer he spent away from the game, the more restless he got. He couldn’t watch the action and followed the game by listening to the PA announcer call out the results of each play.
At one point, he remembers saying if they couldn’t get the process started sooner he was going back onto the field, cramps be damned.
“We ran inside and ended up doing some trial and error and they finally got (IV fluids) in my left arm,” Vaughn said. “Just veins, whenever you’re pumping and going they move around. So finally got it in my left arm, got a whole bag in, and as soon as we heard we were back on offense we pulled it out and I ran back on the field.”
He immediately joined the K-State huddle, but his addition wasn’t enough. Tulane went on to pull off a stunning upset.
Vaughn can’t help but wonder if maybe the result would have been different had he been out there for every play.
“I want to be available at all times,” Vaughn said. “I feel like I let my team down there.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 12:09 PM.