Dustin Vaughan (born January 27, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He was signed by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on Se ...

Early years

Vaughan attended Calallen High School. As a senior, he was named first-team All-District 31-4A at both

and punter. He also received All-Metro, All-South Texas and All-State academic honors. He practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He helped the

team win the class 4A state championship.

College career

Vaughan accepted a football scholarship from Division II

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he was the third-string

and appeared in 4 games. As a sophomore, he became the starter in the second game of the season, leading the team to an 8–3 record and a win in the

Kanza Bowl The Kanza Bowl was an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game played between teams from the Lone Star Conference and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association that is played the first Saturday of each December at t ...

over the

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

. He registered 227-for-382 completions for 3,316 yards, 25

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s and 6 interceptions. He had 384 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in a 42–21 win against #5 Texas A&M University–Kingsville. He had 430 passing yards, 4

s and 21 rushing yards in a 49–35 win over Central Washington University. As a junior, he helped the team reach the NCAA Semifinal for the first time in school history. He posted 359-for-555 completions for 4,712 yards (third in school history), 45

s (second in school history) and 13 interceptions. He had 409 passing yards and 5

passes against Western State University. He also had 5

passes against the University of West Georgia. As a senior, he was the runner-up for the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Harlo ...

. He recorded 5,401 passing yards ( Division II record) and 53 touchdowns (school record and third-most all-time in Division II). He finished his college career with conference and school records for passing yards, (13,525), total yards (13,608) and passing touchdowns (123). Vaughan graduated from West Texas A&M with a Bachelor's of Science in Pre-Medicine in 2013. He later earned a Master's degree in Business Administration and Management in 2021.Dustin Vaughn
on LinkedIn.com Retrieved September 27, 2023.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Vaughan was signed as an

by the

after the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He surprised observers by making the team as the third-string quarterback. On September 5,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, he was waived after the team decided to carry just two quarterbacks on the regular season roster. The Cowboys opted not to add him to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

, choosing instead to sign quarterback Kellen Moore, who had previous experience with the team's offensive coordinator

Scott Linehan Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is an American football coach who currently works as an offensive analyst for Missouri. He was most recently the passing game coordinator for LSU. He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis ...

Buffalo Bills

On September 23,

, he was signed to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

' practice squad. On October 19, he was released by the Bills to make room for wide receiver

Titus Davis Titus Davis (January 3, 1993 – November 11, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver. He played college football for the Central Michigan Chippewas, and holds the school records for both career receiving yar ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

On January 22, 2016, Vaughan signed a futures contract with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. On August 28, he was waived-injured by the Steelers after suffering a thumb fracture in a preseason game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

and on September 2, he was released from injured reserve after reaching an injury settlement.

Baltimore Ravens

On December 27, 2016, Vaughan was signed to the Ravens' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 2, 2017. On August 14, 2017, the Ravens waived Vaughn.

San Antonio Commanders

On September 5, 2018, Vaughn signed with the San Antonio Commanders of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

. On November 27, he was selected third-overall by the team in the inaugural AAF Draft. He was a backup behind

Logan Woodside Logan Miles Woodside (born January 27, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Toledo. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2018 NFL D ...

until the league folded in April 2019.

Post-career

Vaughan held several management positions during and after his football career. Between 2018 and 2019, Vaughan was president of a seasonal and supplemental quarterback training program called QB Country. He briefly held management positions in other businesses before joining the Dallas-based industrial equipment supplier Darr Equipment Co in 2020.

References

External links

West Texas A&M Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Dustin 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Cleveland American football quarterbacks West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players Dallas Cowboys players Buffalo Bills players Pittsburgh Steelers players Baltimore Ravens players San Antonio Commanders players