Shane Vereen-RB-California: 5’10″ #210
Strengths-Had a breakout year as the lead back. Shows excellent balance and patience waiting for blocks to develop. Shows good burst with few wasted steps. Shows stop and start ability and does a good job gaining yards after contact. Seems to have excellent vision and gets up the field quickly. Shows very solid hands as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Can make sharp cuts and makes defenders miss in open space. Nice lateral agility.
Weaknesses-Won’t break a ton of tackles. Needs to work on his pass blocking as it is very poor.
NFR Draft Analysis-Vereen had a very solid year on a very poor team. He will probably never be a featured back, but could provide a very solid part of a productive tandem. We believe Vereen will provide solid value to a team with a number one back already entrenched. He should come off the board somewhere in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft.
NFL Comparison-Tashard Choice
Stats Overview Rushing Receiving Fumbles YEAR ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST 2008 142 715 5.0 81 4 27 221 8.2 59 1 0 0 2009 183 952 5.2 61 12 25 244 9.8 21 2 0 0 2010 231 1167 5.1 59 13 22 209 9.5 31 3 0 0CAL CAREER (Career Stats):Placed his name all over Cal’s career and single-season record books during his three seasons of action with the Golden Bears from 2008-10 after redshirting as a true freshman in 2007, playing in all 38 games possible during his career at Cal, making 19 starts … finished his career ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in rushing touchdowns (29, No. 3-T), total touchdowns (35, No. 4-T), all-purpose yards (4,069, No. 5), rushing yards (2,834, No. 7), 100-yard rushing games (11, No. 7) and scoring (210, No. 9-T) … other final career rushing numbers included 556 carries, a 5.1 yard average per attempt and 74.6 yards per game with a long rush of 81 yards against Michigan State during his 2008 redshirt freshman campaign … added 74 receptions for 674 yards and six touchdown catches, with a long of 59, a per-game reception average of 1.9, a per-catch reception average of 9.1 yards and a per-game receiving yards average of 17.7 yards … had 551 kickoff return yards on 24 attempts and 10 punt return yards on two attempts, all in his 2009 sophomore season … even added three passing attempts without a completion, throwing one incompletion in each of his three campaigns … had multiple touchdowns in 10 games and at least one reception in 37 of his 38 contests, including his first 33 which was the longest run by a FBS running back when it was snapped … had 100 or more all-purpose yards 20 times, including four 200-plus yard all-purpose contests … in the single-season record books, his 1,757 all-purpose yards in 2009 ranks sixth, the 13 rushing touchdowns he scored in 2010 are tied for sixth, the 12 rushing touchdowns he posted in 2008 are tied for eighth, and his 1,167 rushing yards and 96 points in 2010 are ninth and tied for ninth.
2010 (Game-By-Game Stats):Earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in his final collegiate season (also first-team by Phil Steele, second-team according to Scout.com) as a junior in when he started all 12 games and finished the regular season ranked among the best in the Pac-10 and the nation in both rushing and scoring … totals of 1,167 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns on the ground and 231 carries were all single-season career bests, while his 5.1 yards per rush average narrowly trailed the single-season career-best 5.2 average he posted in 2009 … ranked fourth in the Pac-10 and 25th nationally with an average of 97.25 rushing yards per game at the end of the regular season, while his 96 points on 16 total touchdowns ranked him tied for fifth in the Pac-10 and tied for 42nd nationally with an average of 8.00 points per game … scored a career-high-tying three touchdowns in a game twice – vs. UC Davis (two rushing, one receiving) and at Nevada (career-high-tying three rushing) – as well as multiple touchdowns in six of 12 games (also vs. Colorado, one rush/one receive; vs. UCLA, two rush; vs. Arizona State, two rush and at Washington State, two rush) … finished third on the team with three touchdown catches, as well as fourth with 209 receiving yards … his combination of rushing and receiving made him the Pac-10′s fifth-leading all-purpose runner and 55th nationally through the end of the regular season with an average of 114.67 all-purpose yards per game (1,376 total all-purpose yards) … recorded the highest rushing total of his career at Nevada when he had 198 yards and a career-high-tying three rushing touchdowns on 19 carries, including a season-best 59-yard touchdown run, to earn honorable mention Running Back Performer of the Week honors from the College Football Performance Awards … also had other rushing games of at least 100 yards at Arizona (27-102), vs. UCLA (25-151), at Washington State (25-112), vs. Oregon (26-112) and vs. Washington (23-106), picking up his second honorable mention selection for the CFPA’s Running Back Performer of the Week honors for his performance vs. the Bruins … had a season-high 45 yards receiving and one of his three touchdown catches (also vs. UC Davis and vs. Colorado) on a season-high-tying three catches (also vs. Colorado, vs. UCLA and vs. Stanford) at USC … posted six games with over 100 all-purpose yards, including a season-high 207 at Nevada that was also the highest total by a Cal player in 2010 … named a midseason first-team All-Pac-10 player by Phil Steele … was listed as a “Heisman possibility” by Phil Steele prior to the season and a second-team preseason All-Pac-10 choice along with Athlon and Lindy’s … in addition, Athlon had him tabbed as the nation’s No. 3 Fantasy Football running back prior to the campaign and selected him No. 7 in a Fantasy Football mock draft … ranked as Lindy’s No. 18 running back nationally before the beginning of the season, as well as Steele’s No. 23 draft-eligible running back … on watch lists for the Maxwell and Paul Hornung Awards … a preseason favorite for the College Football Performance Awards Running Back Trophy … listed as a “Key Golden Bear” by Athlon and one of Cal’s “Players to Watch” according to Lindy’s in preseason publications.
2009 (Game-By-Game Stats):Earned honorable mention All-Pac-10 recognition despite spending most of the season as a backup to Heisman Trophy candidate and 2010 NFL Draft first-round pick Jahvid Best … led the Bears with 952 yards rushing … voted by teammates as Cal’s offensive Bear Backers Co-MVP along with Best … scored 12 touchdowns on the ground to equal Best for the team lead and 14 overall to rank second overall behind Best’s 16 scores … played in all 13 games with four starts, including three of the last four contests (vs. Arizona, at Stanford, Poinsettia Bowl vs. Utah) after Best suffered a season-ending injury vs. Oregon State, with his only non-start coming at Washington when he was not on the field for the first offensive play … totaled 566 rushing yards on 108 carries and six rushing touchdowns over the final four games, averaging 141.5 yards per game and a career-high 5.2 yards per carry … also officially the starter at Minnesota in the third game of the campaign when he was on the field for the first offensive snap … among Pac-10 per-game leaders in rushing yards (No. 6, 73.23), all-purpose running (No. 6-T, 135.15), scoring (No.10-T, 6.46) and total offense (No. 15, 73.23), while his average of 22.96 yards per kick return was sixth in the league … added 25 receptions for 244 yards and two TDs, ranking tied for third on the team in touchdown catches, fourth in receptions and fifth in receiving yards … rushed for more than 150 yards three times – at UCLA (154), vs. Arizona (159) and at Stanford (193) – setting career highs each time … rushed a career-high and Pac-10 season-high 42 times that also tied for the second-most rushes in a game nationally in the 34-28 victory at Stanford in the Big Game … received the team’s Berkeley Breakfast Club Award as the offense’s outstanding player in the Big Game and was also the Walter Camp Football Foundation BCS National Offensive Player of the Week, an AT&T All-America Player of the Week nomination and a Muscle Milk California Student-Athlete of the Week selection after his season-high 193-yard game at Stanford … scored a career-high-tying three rushing TDs both vs. Eastern Washington and at Stanford … among his 30 carries at Arizona was a season-long 61-yard touchdown run that sealed a 24-16 victory with 1:21 to go in the fourth quarter … picked up his 154 yards at UCLA on only 17 carries (9.4 ypc) and had a 42-yard TD run that kicked off the game’s scoring on the first drive of the contest … also had the most single-game all-purpose running yards by a Cal player in 2009 vs. the Bruins, adding 46 on kick returns, 20 receiving and 10 on punt returns for a career-high total of 230 … had a strong contest in the Poinsettia Bowl vs. Utah, rushing for 122 yards on 20 carries with two scores, while adding a season-high-tying three receptions for 20 yards … was only eight yards shy of finishing the season with four consecutive 100-yard games, just missing the mark with 92 yards on 16 carries against Washington, including a 50-yarder that was the fourth-longest rush of his career and his second longest of the season … also had a solid game against Washington State, rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, while adding a touchdown grab on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Kevin Riley … had a season-tying three receptions in four different games vs. Maryland (46 yards), vs. Oregon State (six yards), at Washington (25 yards) and in the Poinsettia Bowl vs. Utah (20 yards) … had both one rushing and one receiving TD against Maryland and Washington State … had the biggest kick-return game of his career against USC, when he recorded career highs and tied Isi Sofele for Cal’s single-game team-highs for both kick returns (6) and kick return yards (127) … also had 114 kick return yards on three returns at Oregon, including a career-best 44-yarder … caught at least one pass in all 13 games and recorded 10 contests with over 100 all-purpose yards … earned Muscle Milk California Student-Athlete of the Week a total of three times, winning the honor for his performances at UCLA and vs. Arizona in addition to Stanford … earned honorable mention Running Back Performer of the Week honors from the College Football Performance Awards twice after his games at UCLA and vs. Stanford … selected third-team midseason All-Pac-10 and fourth-team preseason All-Pac-10 by Phil Steele … named as the nation’s No. 61 draft-eligible running back by Phil Steele heading into the campaign.
2008 (Game-By-Game Stats):Had a strong season, playing in all 13 games and making three starts at tailback … amassed 715 yards on the ground as the primary backup to Jahvid Best to rank second on the club in rushing yardage, as well as No. 10 in the Pac-10 with an average of 55.0 rushing yards per contest … averaged 5.0 yards per rush on 142 carries (also second to Best) and scored four touchdowns on the ground as well as five total with one receiving … tied for second on the team with 27 catches for 221 receiving yards … finished with 936 all-purpose yards to rank second on the team behind Best and No. 18 in the Pac-10 with a per game average of 72.0 … posted his first 100-yard rushing effort in his collegiate debut and a starting role vs. Michigan State in the season-opener, going for 101 yards on nine carries including a game-clinching 81-yard TD run in the fourth quarter … also caught four balls for 16 yards and attempted a pass that was incomplete vs. the Spartans … had another pair of 75-plus yard games over his next three contests, running for 80 yards on nine carries including a 39-yard touchdown run at Washington State, and 75 yards on 12 attempts vs. Colorado State … made another start for an injured Best vs. Arizona State and responded with 93 yards on a season-high 27 carries, plus another 51 yards on a career-high five receptions for a season-high 144 all-purpose yards … nearly posted another 100-yard game the next time he subbed for Best as a starter, totaling 99 rushing yards on 14 carries vs. UCLA, and peeling off a 56-yard run that was the third-longest of his career and second-longest of his season … churned out 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a backup role during a victory over Oregon, including a crucial two-yard touchdown with 8:57 left in the game that made the final score, 26-16, adding four receptions for 25 yards … had 56 yards on 12 carries in the Big Game vs. Stanford and also hauled in a career-long 59 yard reception that resulted in his first career receiving TD, with the 59 receiving yards also a career single-game best … contributed 49 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown against Washington and 36 on eight rushes in the Emerald Bowl vs. Miami, Fla.
2007:Redshirted … did not play.
Some bio material provided by http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/vereen_shane00.html
Original Story:
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