Brock Vereen (born August 17, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

. He was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He was also a member of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He is currently doing broadcasting work on

Big Ten Network Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of College athletics, collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news ...

on their onsite pre-game show and on

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

's ''That Other Pregame Show'' as a studio commentator.

Early life

Vereen attended Valencia High School in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

, where he was a two-time All-

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have s ...

(CIF) selection. He led his team to a 12–1 record in 2009. As a senior, he recorded 51

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, eight

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

, two pass break-ups and one

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

, while offensively, playing

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, he caught 20 receptions for 474 yards and seven

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. Vereen was also a standout

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

athlete at Valencia, where he posted a personal best-time of 10.89 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and participated in the 4x100. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Vereen was rated as the 66th best

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

prospect of his class. Scout.com considered Vereen a two-star recruit and ranked him as the No. 166 cornerback in the nation, while

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

had him as the No. 57 cornerback.

College career

Vereen attended the

from 2010 to 2013. He played both

and

. As a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2010, he appeared in nine games with four starts and recorded 10 total tackles. In 2011, he started all 12 games at cornerback, recording 67 tackles, one interception, one forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

and five pass break-ups. In 2012, he played in all 13 games, with seven starts at safety. He recorded 64 tackles, nine pass break-ups and two interceptions. In 2013, as a senior, he started all 13 games at safety, recording 59 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and six pass break-ups. He was named first-team All-Big Ten Conference by the coaches.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Vereen was selected in the fourth round (131st overall) of the

by the

. He signed a four-year deal with the Bears on May 12, 2014. Vereen and fellow draft class quarterback David Fales were the NFL's first two draft picks to agree to terms. He was released by the Bears on September 29, 2015.

Minnesota Vikings

Vereen was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

on October 1, 2015, after being unclaimed on waivers. He was waived by the Vikings on November 13.

New England Patriots

The

signed Vereen to their practice squad on November 18, 2015. On January 26, 2016, Vereen signed a futures contract with the Patriots. The Patriots released Vereen.

Kansas City Chiefs

On August 17, 2016, Vereen was claimed off waivers by the

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Chiefs. The next day, he was signed to the Chiefs' practice squad. He was released from the practice squad two days later.

Personal life

His father, Henry Vereen, was a ninth round pick of the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

, and played wide receiver in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

in the early 1980s. Vereen is a first cousin once removed of stage actor and dancer

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

. His brother, Shane Vereen, was a second-round pick of the

in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

.Gophers football: Sibling rivalry has been a driving force for safety Brock Vereen
/ref> Vereen is currently doing broadcasting work on

on their onsite pre-game show and on

's ''That Other Pregame Show'' as a studio commentator.

References

External links

Minnesota Golden Gophers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vereen, Brock 1992 births Living people Players of American football from Santa Clarita, California American football safeties American football cornerbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Chicago Bears players Minnesota Vikings players New England Patriots players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Valencia, Santa Clarita, California