Friends Bijan Robinson, Deuce Vaughn looking forward to competition on-field Saturday
Texas and Kansas State have proudly boasted some of the most electric running backs in college football during both programs’ time as members of the Big 12. Whether it’s Ricky Williams, Jamaal Charles, Darren Sproles, or John Hubert, great rushers have put on the uniforms of the two schools facing each other this Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.
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When the ‘Horns and the ‘Cats do compete at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this weekend, yet another meeting of superstar running backs will take place. Texas’ Bijan Robinson and K-State’s Deuce Vaughn will take center-stage and play key roles in determining who will win each team’s first November game.
Vaughn and Robinson have enjoyed similar careers. Each a member of the class of 2020, both have over:
- 2750 career rushing yards
- 25 career rushing touchdowns
- 3500 total yards from scrimmage
- 30 total touchdowns
The 5-foot-6 Vaughn has the edge in rushing yardage (2948 to 2750), rushing TDs (30 to 26), receiving yardage (1032 to 771), while the former five-star Robinson has the edge in receiving touchdowns (8 to 7), yards per carry (6.2 to 5.8), yards per reception (13.3 to 10.6), and yards per touch (7.0 to 6.5).
Robinson and Vaughn play key roles for their teams as the focal point of their offenses, a trend that began in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, continued in 2021, and is at its peak in 2022.
Robinson has the edge in some statistics this year, with six 100-yard games to Vaughn’s five. Robinson also has doubled up Vaughn in rushing touchdowns, with a mark of 11 to 5.
As a result of their successes and careers crossing over, the two have established a friendship as stars at their position. Though they won’t technically be facing each other — the odds of one tackling the other this weekend are near zero — they can’t wait to share the field.
“I just like to watch him play,” Robinson said Monday. “He can catch out of the backfield, and I think me and him share similar attributes when it comes to that. I think he’s a really good running back and we’ve just got to contain him on Saturday.”
Vaughn echoed those sentiments in Manhattan on Tuesday, saying “the way that he conducts himself, the way he carries himself, the way he wants to be a blessing, the way he wants to put himself out there and be an inspiration to people and kids that want to be like him, I have the utmost respect for him.”
The two have crossed paths once before on the field. In 2020, Robinson established himself as one of the rising stars in college football with 223 total yards and three touchdowns on 12 touches in Texas’ 69-31 win over KSU. Vaughn had a strong showing himself, with 170 total yards and two scores on 14 touches. They missed the chance to compete on the same field during the Longhorns’ win in Austin last year since Robinson had injured himself versus Kansas a few weeks prior.
They also have crossed paths off the field. Robinson and Vaughn met in Los Angeles over the summer and have remained in touch, with Robinson sending Vaughn words of encouragement after K-State’s recent 48-0 thumping of Oklahoma State.
Despite having very different recruitments, with Robinson holding On3 Consensus five-star status out of Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic while Vaughn was not even listed as a top 100 prospect in Texas coming from Round Rock (Texas) Cedar Ridge, the two have built a friendship that might have to be paused for a brief 60 minutes on Saturday.
“I feel like our friendship has grown over these past couple of years and competing against each other, and getting to see each other outside of the helmet and building that relationship about some of the things we hold close to each other,” Vaughn said.
No longer emerging stars like two years ago, both teams are aware of what the other can do. With quarterback intrigue for K-State considering Wildcat head coach Chris Klieman gave a non-update update on Tuesday regarding Adrian Martinez and Will Howard, and Quinn Ewers attempting to bounce back from a poor outing prior to the bye, each team is keenly aware of how much the run game will affect Saturday’s outcome.
“He’s a guy you definitely have to be aware of, No. 22, at all times,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. Klieman had showered similar praise on Robinson.
“You need to find ways to vise tackle him, which is hard because then you’re going to be one on one with the wide receiver or tight end,” Klieman said. “We’ve got to do a great job of gang tackling. And you can’t give up on the play. You can’t think ‘this guy has probably got him,’ because he might not.”
As both backs attempt to move up their respective school rushing record books — Vaughn needs 45 yards to overtake Hubert for second in KSU school history while Robinson needs 124 to move to seventh all-time at Texas — this may be the last time the two have the chance to meet on the field unless a rematch were to occur in the Big 12 title game. Both could declare for the NFL draft following this season, each player’s third.
With that in mind, the opportunity to battle in an important conference game is an opportunity both are looking forward to. It’ll be the battle Sarkisian, Kliemen, and most of the viewing audience believes will likely determine the game’s outcome.
It’s the battle Robinson is anticipating the most.
“I think it’s always fun going up against another really good running back, then to go out there, matchup, and see what you can do,” Robinson said.
