Tag: Vaughn W. Hebron

Vaughn W. Hebron discusses father’s battles against late ’90s Chiefs teams

Vaughn W. Hebron spoke about his father’s time with the #Broncos during the ’90s and his battles with the #Chiefs. | from @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs were consistently knocking on the door of postseason success in the late ’90s, but they were stalled by an AFC West rival. The division rival was usually the John Elway-led Denver Broncos, who won consecutive Super Bowl titles during that period.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. recently sat down with Vaughn W. Hebron to reflect on his father’s time with the Broncos during the late ’90s battles with the Chiefs. He also shared how his dad’s career helped inspire him to pursue a professional football career.

“I don’t know how you can be a son of a football player, an NFL player who’s won the Super Bowl twice, and not grow up thinking like you’re going to be in the league,” said Hebron. “You’re gonna be an athlete to that caliber, you know, so definitely when I was younger, Pop Warner, JV, Varsity all day, even through college. I had NFL aspirations. I wanted to be just like my dad. So he played a huge part in inspiring me and molding, like, the type of dreams I had when it came to football. You know, obviously, when you get to college, you start being a little more realistic and figuring out, okay, do I really want to do this? This is really something possible for me. And obviously, my path took a different turn. But, yeah, throughout my childhood and throughout high school, I definitely had a lot of inspiration from my father.”

Hebron Sr. played three of his five NFL seasons with the Broncos, helping them win back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 1998. The Chiefs fell short to Hebron and the eventual champion Broncos during the 1997 divisional round 14-10. Hebron had two kick returns for 51 yards during that game.

According to his son, Kansas City was always a tough and well-respected opponent.

“He would always say it was just a hard game when it came to (the Chiefs). It was just a hard game,” said Hebron. “It was one of those gridiron games for them like it’s gonna come down to the wire. You know that with y’all, it’s gonna be a dogfight. So that’s really the things that he’s telling me about the Chiefs when it came to playing them like it was gonna be a dogfight. It’s gonna come down to the wire, no matter how much you plan. We’ve got to adjust to them because they always got weapons. They were a sound team. He was playing in 1997-1998. They were fundamentally sound; they were very close very well. And so were the Broncos, so it was really like, who wants it more? It’s gonna be a dogfight. So that’s why I specifically remember him talking about that being the experience with them.”

In 1997, the Chiefs were 13-3 in the regular season finishing as the AFC’s top seed before falling to Denver. In 1998, again under head coach Marty Schottenheimer, the Chiefs missed the postseason with a disappointing 7-9 record with Elvis Grbac at quarterback. Kansas City was 1-3 during the regular season matchups with the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos.

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Actor Vaughn W. Hebron talks new season of ‘The Game’ and thoughts on Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

Actor Vaughn W. Hebron discussed the new season of ‘The Game,’ thoughts on #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and more. | from @EdEastonJr

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The Paramount Plus show “The Game” is entering its second season on the streaming platform, presenting a fictional professional football team and its players dealing with both dramatic and comedic situations.

Vaughn W. Hebron, one of the stars of the hit show, is a former college football player who has changed career paths. He’s since become an accomplished actor with roles in the Academy Award-winning film King Richard and Tyler Perry’s The Oval. In “The Game,” Hebron plays Jamison Fields, a talented young running back looking to rebuild his image and make an impact on his team, the Las Vegas Fighting Fury.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. recently sat down with Hebron to discuss the new season of “The Game” and his mindset after transitioning from playing college football to acting. He also shared his thoughts on Kanas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson’s rivalry in the AFC.

“What people can expect with season two is — so we’re picking up right after season one left off,” said Hebron of ‘The Game’ before its December 15th premiere. “But I think there’s going to be some information that people need about the characters’ personal lives from their past. So before we move forward in the season, we’re going to get like a nice little flashback into each of the characters’ pasts and how they ended up in the situation that they’re currently in. And the type of decisions that they’ve made that have put them in their current predicament and how (they) also affect their future.”

Hebron was a running back for the Lafayette College Leopards from 2009 to 2012 before pursuing a career in acting. He discussed the similarities in his approach to being an actor to his time as an NCAA D1 tailback.

“I honestly think I compare acting and the set so much to my football and sports experience,” said Hebron. “And the way I do that is because, you know, you train constantly. You’re constantly training, constantly working fundamentals. Honestly, I work more fundamentals with acting than I do, like actual scenes and stuff. I’m just working on the fundamentals, just like I did when I was playing running back. And then you know, you have your team, like on set. You have the set, you have the crew, you have your coach, you have a director, you got the coaches boss, you got the politics of that. So it’s very similar.”

“I think for me, the biggest reminder is when I was running back, and I had the rock in my hands,” Hebron continued. “Yes, I have my team, but the spotlight is on me. You know, once they gave me that ball, it’s up to me now to figure out how to get it down the field and score a touchdown. Somebody might miss a block, and I got to react to that. A linebacker might blitz, and then I got to react to that or go pick up a pass block. So, I really compare that to acting where you go in with a game plan, you go in there with what you want to do. And when they say action, you really don’t know what’s going to happen. You just kind of depend on your fundamentals, you depend on your coaching, and you make adjustments on the fly, man. So it’s a very similar feeling for me.”

Hebron grew up in Baltimore as a Ravens fan and continues to support the team today. He acknowledged the ongoing battles with the Chiefs over the past few seasons and the growing rivalry between the team’s two young star quarterbacks.

“Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, they’re not similar styles, but like they are huge weapons,” said Hebron. “They make the offense way more versatile and what they can do. So, I think it’s a rivalry because you see it like the same type of performances and weapons on both sides of the boat. And you really watching it, like, ‘Who’s gonna do what? Who’s gonna stand out?’ It can go either way. And I think it’s a more fun rivalry to get behind because they’re both young quarterbacks, too. So it has a different fan base, and I think it’s something like to reignite the rivalry for AFC.”

Hebron does root for Jackson during the season. Still, for a brief moment speaking as his character Jamison Fields he’d prefer Mahomes as his quarterback if forced to choose between him and his teammate Malik Wright played by actor Hosea Chanchez.

“I’m definitely picking Patrick (Mahomes), man.” Hebron said with laughter, “Because Malik Wright, first of all, I will say this (Hosea Chanchez) is a great actor. So yeah, him actually throwing a football to me on the actual football field, I need somebody I know will get it there and not get killed or not get a turnover. So I’m going with Patrick on that one. Malik might throw that ball onto the stands, but I don’t know where that ball is going. He might mess around and spike that thing, so I’m gonna go with Patrick.”

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You can watch Hebron weekly on “The Game,” returning on December 15 on Paramount Plus.

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