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College Football Insiders "Pac-10 players to watch for 2010" series continues on the offensive side of the ball with California Golden Bear Shane Vereen.

Beginning with J.J. Arrington, and followed by Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett, and Jahvid Best, the California Golden Bears have been putting running backs into the NFL draft seemingly every year under Jeff Tedford. There is no reason to believe that Shane Vereen won’t add his name to that list in the next year or two as he takes over the role of feature back for the Bears this fall. He is not stepping into the spotlight without any experience; he’s already logged 325 carries and scored 19 touchdowns for the Bears in addition to starting all of Cal’s games last season following Best’s severe concussion.

Vereen certainly doesn’t have the flash, hype, and catalog of YouTube highlights that Best had going into last season, but he may prove to be the more versatile back. He runs compact, controlled, and low to the ground giving him an efficient stop-and-start style that keeps him moving forward and eating up yards. Vereen doesn’t quite have the speed or side-to-side quickness of Best but he is certainly not lacking in those areas. He makes himself dangerous in the open field by effectively using his blockers and making decisive cuts. An area that he can challenge any of his predecessors in is the passing game. The Valencia (CA) product is able to catch the ball well, secure it, and turn up the field quicker than many receivers. He appears comfortable going up for the ball against players in the secondary and has registered a catch in each game he has been in a Bear uniform.

In an offense that will see four returning starters on the offensive line and an experienced senior quarterback in Kevin Riley, the junior running back will have every opportunity to feature his skills.  Also, if Riley has one of his inconsistent games under center, do not be surprised to see Vereen take a number of snaps out of the Wildcat formation as he did at times last season. While LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers are the Pac-10 running backs getting most of the attention going into the season, there is good reason to believe Vereen will end up as the conference’s most productive back.

Pac-10 Player Watch #1 - James Rodgers, Oregon State

Photo Courtesy of GoldenBearSports.com