Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Football
Cornerback was instrumental in Utah’s road win over UCF Friday night
DALLAS – The Big 12 Conference announced on Monday that Utah senior cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn has been named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week. Vaughn, who earned his first-ever weekly honor, brought havoc all over the field to help the Utes to a road victory at UCF this past Friday night.
In total, Vaughn contributed six tackles—all solo—along with a pick-six, two pass breakups and a fourth-down strip-sack. His six total tackles tied Vaughn’s season-high, while his two PBU were his most in 2024. His pick-six was one of Vaughn’s two third-down stops in the game, while his six tackles led the Utah secondary.
Midway through the second quarter and with Utah ahead 3-0, Vaughn was in perfect position to intercept the UCF quarterback and skip around multiple Knights during his 60-yard trip to the end zone. It was his third career interception and first for a touchdown. As a team, it was one of three pick-sixes for the Utes in their final two games, which included one for Smith Snowden later on in the UCF game.
With his strip-sack in the third quarter, the native of Beaumont, Texas, became the first Utah player since 2006 to have both a pick-six and force a fumble in the same game. Vaughn started at cornerback in each of his last 31 games as a Ute; it ranks third among current Big 12 secondary players.
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