Golden Gophers safety Brock Vereen visits Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to look forward toward the 2014 NFL Draft by visiting college Pro Days and hosting college players from various schools at their South Side facility.  Today, Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Brock Vereen was the latest to make a visit.

Considered by the NFL at the 2014 NFL Combine to be one of the ‘top performers’ and ranked seventh by NFLDraftScout.com among strong safeties available in the upcoming draft, Vereen is 6 feet, 200 pounds and many feel he will be available in the sixth round.  Vereen played both safety and cornerback during his college career, playing both as a senior in 2013.  During that time he had 56 tackles and 1 interception.  He was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and was an honorable mention by the media.

During the NFL Combine, Vereen impressed with a 4.47 second 40-yard dash, 25 reps on the bench press, put up a time of 6.90 seconds on the three cone drill and 4.07 seconds on the 20-yard shuttle (all top scores).  Vereen posted a 34 inch vertical jump and 117.o inch broad jump.  A tough competitor, Vereen demonstrated that he is great in traffic, recognizing the zone and routes.  He has shown good awareness and fluid movement while in man coverage.

The Steelers are looking for a smart, aggressive player to add to their roster.  Vereen may be a smaller-framed player with shorter arms, but his cover skills, especially in the back end, without losing speed are attractive.  Some feel his draft potential leaves him at the sixth round because of his lack of interception numbers in college, but Vereen is a natural-born leader who had a competitive nature and ideal leadership abilities.

2013 – Senior Season with Minnesota

• vs. UNLV – 8 tackles, 6 solo (team leader)
• vs. New Mexico State – 7 tackles
• vs. Western Illinois – 1 pass broken up, 4 tackles
• vs. San Jose State – 3 tackles
• vs. Iowa – 8 tackles (6 solo), 1 forced fumble, 1 pass broken up, 1 interception
• vs. Michigan – 2 assists on tackles
• vs. Northwestern – (started at cornerback) 4 solo tackles, 1 pass broken up
• vs. Nebraska – 4 tackles, 1 pass broken up
• vs. Indiana – 6 tackles, 1 pass broken up
• vs. Penn State – 4 tackles
• vs. Wisconsin – 3 tackles
• vs. Michigan State – 3 assisted tackles

Vereen played in every game during his final three seasons with Minnesota, starting 32 of them.  In 2012, Vereen had 64 tackles and two interceptions.  In 2011, Vereen started all 12 games for the Golden Gophers at cornerback, posting 67 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss and one interception.  In 2010, Vereen played nine games as a freshman and had 10 tackles.

Vereen was a three-star recruit out of Valencia, California.   Vereen led his high school team to a 12-1 record in 2009 and was an All-CIF selection twice.  He recorded 51 tackles, eight interceptions, two pass break-ups and one sack in his senior season.  Vereen also played wide receiver, with 20 receptions for 474 yards and seven touchdowns and was ranked at the number 66 cornerback in the nation by Scout.com.  Three-star rank from Rivals and two-star ranking from Scout.  Vereen was also a track standout.  His brother, Shane, plays for the New England Patriots (running back) and his father, Henry, was a draft selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of UNLV.