He started playing football as a junior at Smoky Hill High School. He made varsity as a senior. Chase Vaughn turned some heads in that short time and received three small offers at Division II and NAIA schools. He accepted one for Adams State and was there for 2 years until CSU-Pueblo started a football program. He took a leap of faith and transferred. Good move.
In his first game, Chase had 4 ½ sacks and when he graduated, he held the Thunderwolves’ sack record. NFL scouts were checking him out, but his name wasn’t called on draft day, nor did any teams call afterwards to invite him as a free agent. At that point, the grind began between different leagues including the Arena League and the CFL. After a few years of being cut and racking up the balance on a credit card with tryout fees and plane tickets, Chase was noticed by a Broncos scout and signed a contract with Denver.
He suffered an injury his first season and when John Fox was fired, he figured he was done. But Gary Kubiak’s group kept him around for another season and he took the opportunity to slow down and appreciate how far he’d come.
After football, Chase became a firefighter for the Aurora Fire Department and provides an insightful analogy between playing football and fighting fires. While he used to thrive on adrenaline running down the field on special teams, he now thrives on running into burning structures and being there for people on their worst days.