John Vaughn (born June 15, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

as an

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in 2007. He played

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for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

College career

In the 2006 season, Vaughn was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year and was a

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns ...

finalist. His 42-yard

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

field goal was his twentieth made out of twenty-four attempts for an 83.3% on the season and made him just the second Auburn kicker ever to complete twenty or more field goals in a single season. Vaughn had new career long field goals in consecutive weekends with a 52-yarder against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

and a 55-yarder against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

. Twice during the season he completed four field goals in a single game — in wins against Washington State and the eventual

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Champion

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. He is one of the best kickers in Auburn history. Vaughn holds more Auburn University records than any other kicker. Vaughn finished his Auburn career with 162 extra-point conversions (out of 163 attempts), a school record and third best in SEC history. He also converted 50 field goals for a 72.5% success rate. Vaughn's career total of 312 points made him the Auburn career-scoring leader ahead of Bo Jackson and Carnell Williams, and ranks tied for 12th in SEC history. Vaughn was the leading scorer on the undefeated 2004 SEC Champion team. Vaughn never had a kick blocked in his entire 4-year career at Auburn University. While Vaughn will arguably be remembered for his failed attempts against LSU in 2005 which cost Auburn the game, Vaughn rebounded and only missed 5 kicks the rest of his college career. ESPN College Gameday did special segment on Vaughn to share his story. He is also remembered for a game-winning field goal in 2005 that beat Georgia 31-30 with 0:06 remaining in the game. In 2008, Vaughn was inducted into The Great American Rivalry High School Football Hall of Fame. Vaughn holds several state records in the TSSAA. His 39 career field goals is a Tennessee State Record and ranks him tied for 4th in national high school football history. In 2010, John Vaughn was voted as the kicker for the Auburn All Decade team of the 2000s.

Awards and honors

*Auburn University's All Time Leading Scorer with 312 points until broken by Wes Byrum in 2010 *Auburn All Decade team 2000's *Lou Groza Award Finalist (Runner Up) *SEC Special Teams Player of the Year *

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Honorable Mention All-American *SI.com Honorable Mention All-American *Coaches All-SEC First-team *

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All-SEC First-team *Scout.com All-SEC First-team *Preseason Coaches Third-team All-SEC *2006 Hartman Award Winner awarded to the Southeast's most outstanding special teams player *2007 Shug Jordan Award Winner given to Auburn's most outstanding senior football player

Professional career

First stint with Titans

Vaughn went undrafted in the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

but signed as an undrafted free agent with the

on April 30, 2007. He was released from the Titans after Tennessee's 3rd Pre-season game

Orlando Predators

John Vaughn was signed by the Orlando Predators of the AFL in February 2008. One of the most productive newcomers to the Orlando Predators Vaughn beat out Jay Davis to become the Predators starting kicker as a rookie. Hit a 33-yard game-winning field goal against the Columbus Destroyers as time expired.

Second stint with Titans

Vaughn was re-signed by the Titans on July 31, 2008. Vaughn handled all kicking responsibilities for the Titans in the 2008 preseason. Going 7-9 on field goals, Vaughn connected on a 33-yard game-winning field goal as time expired to beat the Oakland Raiders. Vaughn was cut by the Tennessee Titans in the final roster cuts to make place for All-Pro Kicker

Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American professional football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn Universit ...

, a former Auburn kicker himself.

External links

Auburn Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, John 1984 births Living people American football placekickers Auburn Tigers football players Orlando Predators players Tennessee Titans players Sportspeople from Brentwood, Tennessee Players of American football from Williamson County, Tennessee