Patriots Rookie Vereen Eager To Catch Up After Injury
FOXBORO (CBS) - New England Patriots second-round draft pick Shane Vereen has been sidelined most of training camp with a hamstring injury, but returned to the field on Thursday.
The rookie running back is getting closer to full health, and would like to get on the playing field to show what he can do.
"[Practice] went good, as far as being able to get back out there," said Vereen on Thursday. "I'm looking forward to staying out there this time."
Vereen was drafted by the Patriots out of California with the 56th overall pick. He chose to forgo his senior year after graduating in December with a degree in media studies. While with Cal, he racked up 2,834 yards and 29 touchdowns in only three years.
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After playing second fiddle to now-Lions running back Jahvid Best in 2009 (and still rushing for 12 touchdowns), Vareen became the full-time back at Cal in 2010. He totaled 1,167 yards on the ground and found the end zone 16 times, 13 rushing and three receiving scores.
He hopes to bring the same kind of dynamics to the New England backfield, but knows he has some catching up to do.
"I think my body feels behind, it's sore," admitted Vereen. "But I feel good... I'm ready to play."
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Vereen credits his college playbook to helping him make the transition to the pros a little easier.
"The system that we used back in college was pretty spread and we did a lot of different things. It helped a lot; it helped me understand defenses," he said.
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Vereen is was not sure if he would make the trip to Detroit for Saturday night's game against the Lions.
Tune in to the Patriots preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Saturday at 8pm on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Pregame coverage begins at 5pm on the Sports Hub and at 7pm on WBZ. Tune in after the game for postgame coverage on both stations.
