Maurice Vaughn '21 Recruiting Profile

Growing up my parents would always talk to me about life. About the things, I should do and the things I shouldn't do. They would discipline me when I did something wrong and would reward me with praise when I did something good. Being the third child of six, I had to learn how to share, be responsible, protective, respectful, a good example, how to debate, and the value of teamwork.  My parents always told me, "Son, you can take a horse to the river, but it's up to the horse to drink the water".  I can honestly say I had no clue what that saying really meant until my Junior year in high school when I started to think about my future beyond high school. I often tell my mother how I wish I could start my high school years over, I would do much better academically in school. My mother kept trying to drill in me how important my grades would be in determining the choices of colleges I would get to apply to.  She would constantly tell me that my athletic ability will only take me so far if my grades weren’t much to show for. Now that I am applying to college and understand the seriousness of the decisions I am making. I only hope that I haven't waited too long to drink the water, so to speak.

My parents have worked hard all my life to teach me the value of money and what it takes to obtain it. This is why I would like to learn how to start and manage a business from beginning to end. My parents do several jobs outside of their regular 9-5 jobs. They run and operate a clothing design business, they remodel houses, and my mother is a real estate agent and a football referee.   I believe that with the proper education and the knowledge I have learned from my parents, that goal is achievable.  I may have not listened to the advice given to me by my parents in the past, but their actions and values have inspired me to want to be a business owner too.

I know that at 5'10, 205 lbs. I'm not the biggest running back that coaches are looking for, but I am determined. I am determined to show any coach that I have what it takes to play college football. I know what hard work feels and looks like. In 2019  I assisted the Health Sciences Charter School football team in becoming the 2019 Regional Champs, Conference Champs, Sectional Champs, and State 3rd place. In 2019 with a three-man backfield, I rushed for 1600 yards and was selected as a first-team offense - B-2 Coaches All-League Team (2019).  I was named as the Buffalo News Football player of the week for week 2 (2019).  I was named Section VI Semi-Final Offense Most Valuable Player, and Section VI - Class B-2 Offensive Player of the year-2019. I love the game of football because I love being a part of a team and gaining brothers and friends for life.  

I have come to a point in my young life where I not only know the meaning of hard work, but I understand what hard work is from experience and the examples set for me by my parents. I don't want to be just another statistic. I want, need, deserve, and hunger for more for my life. The game of football along with the teachings of my parents has brought out a sense of leadership in me, that has helped me to excel in anything I put my mind to.  The want and zeal to play football at a higher level has made me work harder in school now, knowing that my grades have to match the hard work and dedication I put in on the football field. I can't go back and change my past, but I can help better my future and I am determined to do so.