He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.

[1] A three-year varsity football player, Vereen also played basketball and was one of the Southland's top sprinters, recording the fastest 100-meter time of any junior in Southern California during the 2006 track and field season.

[3] In 2008, he served as the primary backup to Jahvid Best as part of the Golden Bears' two running back system, playing in all of the team's 13 games.

[7] After Best suffered a severe concussion versus Oregon State, Vereen took over the job of primary running back for the final four games of the 2009 season.

[12] In the 2010 season opener against UC Davis on September 4, Vereen had 67 rushing yards for two touchdowns, with a third receiving in a 52–3 blowout victory.

[18] After graduating in December 2010 in three and a half years with a degree in Media Studies, Vereen decided to forgo his senior season and declared for the NFL draft.

On November 21, Vereen scored his first career NFL touchdown on a four-yard run in a 34–3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

[25] On November 22, 2012, Thanksgiving night, Vereen caught an 83-yard touchdown reception in a 49–19 rout of the New York Jets.

[28] In the Divisional Round of the 2012 NFL Playoffs, against the Houston Texans, Vereen had a career day: he had five receptions for 83 yards, scoring touchdowns on two of them.

[44] His father, Henry Vereen, was a ninth round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1979 NFL draft,[2] and played wide receiver in the Canadian Football League for the BC Lions in the early 1980s.