Vereen learned from brother
Valencia, Calif., cornerback Brock Vereen knows its competitive in the recruiting world and scholarship offers aren't handed out like candy. However, the good news for the 5-foot-11, 175-pounder is that he's used to a little competition.
His older brother, Shane Vereen, is the backup tailback at California, and when growing up the two used to have epic battles over everything from pickup basketball to video games.
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"I'm the better video game player," Vereen said. "But I marvel at his competitiveness in everything. That's the biggest thing I take from him. He's the hardest working guy I know, and I have to be competitive just like him to keep up with him. From basketball to video games, we're always competitive.
"That relationship has definitely made me a better person and a better player."
Vereen is one of the top defensive back prospects in California in the 2010 class. He already has a scholarship offer from Stanford, and with his 10.7 speed in the 100-meter dash, more are for sure to come.
"I talk to coach Clayton White at Stanford pretty regularly," Vereen said. "We stay in communication with each other. I've also talked to coach John Neal at Oregon. Plus, since I'm right down the freeway from UCLA, I'm down there at least once a month."
Cal, Oregon State and other Pac 10 and Mountain West programs are also involved with Vereen. At this point, he's got an idea of what he's looking for in the perfect school.
"Mainly I'm going to look at a school's coaching," he said.
"I'm going to want to be around people I can listen to and learn a lot from. Academics is the No. 2 thing for me. I can't play football my whole life. You never know when football is over. I'd like to do something with communications or engineering."