Originally posted on emawonline.com
by Alec Busse
Deuce Vaughn was in the locker in the process of getting stabbed in the left arm with a needle four or five different times with the radio on giving the play-by-play of what eventually turned into a 17-10 upset win for Tulane over Kansas State (2-1) on Saturday.
The Wildcats All-American running back started to feel his legs “lock up” after a 26-yard run early in the third quarter in the Wildcats game vs. Tulane last week. Then, later in the game, after running for eight yards on a counter play, Vaughn’s calves “were balled up” with cramps – and the only way for him to get the uncomfortable muscle spasms to smother was to get an IV back inside the locker room.
“It’s super frustrating from the standpoint that I wasn’t available,” Vaughn said. “That’s the biggest thing about being a running back, being on this team is being available an I felt like I let my team down at the point.”
Vaughn’s absence for much of the third quarter surely didn’t help the Wildcats avoid the upset against Tulane in Week 3, but Vaughn not being available for much of the third quarter against the Green Wave also contributed to Vaughn’s streak of eight consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown come to an end, two games short of Darren Sproles program record of 10 games.
“They were like ‘For you to feel better, we’re going to have to put an IV in you,’” Vaughn said on Tuesday. “So, we ran inside and did some trial and error and things like that in my left arm, veins move around and what not. We got a whole [IV] bag in, and as soon as we heard we were back on offense, it was pulled back out and we went back on the field.”
Through three games this season, Vaughn has rushed for 352 yards and three touchdowns while averaging more than 5.5 yards per carry. He’s also been involved in the passing attack with 10 receptions for 36 this season.
The third-year Kansas State running back said that he was “battling” through some other medical stuff during the week leading up to the game vs. Tulane, which required new medications and necessitated Vaughn to increase his fluid intake.
Entering this week, Vaughn declared that he would be “more proactive” in his awareness of his fluids as the Wildcats begin Big 12 Conference Play on the road at No. 6 Oklahoma (3-0).
Weather conditions on Saturday in Norman call for a high temperature over 95 degrees, but with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, the scorching hot sun shouldn’t play as big of a factor in the conditions players on each team must fight through.
