Five days left until the 2024 season kicks off means we discuss No. 5, Zemaiah Vaughn, in today's UteNation Countdown to Kickoff series. The former walk-on started all 13 games in 2023 at cornerback, earning All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention from the coaches with 53 tackles, 7 PBUs with one interception.

UteNation Take

Vaughn is an exceptional athlete that has elite size for corner at 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds. He played quarterback in high school, so he also has a high football IQ when it comes to reading the opposing quarterback. Cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah has helped develop a raw athlete into a high-level starting cornerback.

Now a senior, Vaughn is a veteran leader for a group that has some younger players with a lot of potential and a fellow starter, Kenan Johnson, who is new to the program. With another solid season, Vaughn should be the next great Utah cornerback drafted in the early rounds of the NFL Draft.

Remembering Vaughn's Recruitment

Vaughn committed to Lamar University as a dual-threat quarterback out of Beaumont United HS. He then followed with a stunner, turning down the scholarship offer to be a preferred walkon at the University of Utah. The reason was simple: when Scalley sees something in you, you listen. That’s something especially known by diamond-in-the-rough prospects out of Texas. Vaughn then played well enough to receive a scholarship on the first day of 2021 fall camp.