Grab bag: Vereen impresses; Riley learns; Marecic writes

Emptying the notebook from the 49ers’ local pro day (and live from New York … it’s Dwight Clark):

• Cal running back Shane Vereen met with the 49ers at the NFL Combine and one topic of conversation was Vereen’s 42-carry, 192-yard performance in Cal’s 34-28 win over Stanford in 2009.

“(I said) that it was one of my better games,” Vereen said. “(Harbaugh) agreed and thought it was a good performance.”

Harbaugh was also impressed by Vereen’s showing at the 49ers’ local pro day Wednesday.

Vereen and Nebraska running back Roy Helu, who both could be drafted as high as the second round, relished the opportunity to compete head-to-head in drills.

“Those guys are highly thought of running backs. They’re going to go high in the draft,” Harbaugh said. “For them to come out here and compete — and you could see the joy they had in competing … They’re not the prima donna type of guys that pass on those things. So I was really impressed with that.”

Assuming the Niners are seeking a change-of-pace back to complement Frank Gore and Anthony Dixon, Vereen (5-10, 210) would seem to be a logical fit. The second or third round, however, seems a bit too high for the 49ers to draft a third running back. And there’s a good chance Vereen won’t be around in the fourth.

• There wasn’t much time for hands-on instruction at the local pro day, but Cal quarterback Kevin Riley said he picked up a pointer from Harbaugh regarding his footwork.

At the beginning of the workout, Riley said Harbaugh noticed the quarterbacks taking lazy dropbacks and told them to move their feet with a bit more urgency.

“He said ‘Go quick. Get them going quick,’” Riley said. “That’s the thing. You come to an NFL practice compared to a college practice and see these guys move their feet and they are just so fast with their dropbacks and moving back in the pocket. That’s a big thing I learned today. I’ve got to work on that.”

• What’s fullback Owen Marecic going to do between now and the NFL draft?

Hint: He attends Stanford.

Marecic’s first order of business was to write a paper for his Masterpieces of American Literature class. He planned on penning his essay on The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. Not familiar with this classic? Marecic can fill you in:

“It’s about a bunch of pals that drink a lot and they go to Pamplona to watch the bullfights and enjoy the fiesta. It’s their little story and how they interact with each other. It’s just after World War I so most of them have been through the war so it’s kind of how they try to cope with it. But there are a lot of different themes in that book. I don’t really understand them fully yet.”

Don’t worry. Marecic, who will graduate in June with a degree in human biology, will figure it out.

This week, he was one of 10 Stanford students to receive the Deans’ Award for Academic Accomplishment. The award, according to this story, “is given to extraordinary undergraduates deserving of attention from the Stanford community for their intellectual accomplishments.”

• Twenty-nine years after The Catch, here comes The Pick.

Former 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark will be one of 32 NFL alumni, one representing each team, to announce his team’s second-round selection at the NFL draft on April 29 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Another former 49er, defensive end Charles Haley, will announce the Cowboys’ second-round pick.

Here’s the complete list (if a team doesn’t have a second-round selection, its player representative will make the pick in the third round):

Arizona Cardinals, Aeneas Williams (CB)
Atlanta Falcons, Jessie Tuggle (LB)
Baltimore Ravens, Peter Boulware (LB)
Buffalo Bills, Andre Reed (WR)
Carolina Panthers, Brad Hoover (FB)
Chicago Bears, Richard Dent (DE)
Cincinnati Bengals, Anthony Muñoz (OT)
Cleveland Browns, Paul Warfield (WR)
Dallas Cowboys , Charles Haley (DE)
Denver Broncos, Shannon Sharpe (TE)
Detroit Lions, Barry Sanders (RB)
Green Bay Packers, Jim Taylor (FB)
Houston Texans, Aaron Glenn (CB)
Indianapolis Colts, Jeff Herrod (LB)
Jacksonville Jaguars, Donovin Darius (S)
Kansas City Chiefs, Willie Lanier (LB)
Miami Dolphins, Sam Madison (CB)
Minnesota Vikings, Chris Doleman (DE)
New England Patriots, Andre Tippett (LB)
New Orleans Saints, Willie Roaf (OT)
New York Giants, Joe Morris (RB)
New York Jets, Marty Lyons (DT)
Oakland Raiders, Willie Brown (DB)
Philadelphia Eagles, Troy Vincent (DB)
Pittsburgh Steelers, Franco Harris (RB)
St. Louis Rams, Marshall Faulk (RB)
San Diego Chargers, Natrone Means (RB)
San Francisco 49ers, Dwight Clark (WR)
Seattle Seahawks, Cortez Kennedy (DT)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, John Lynch (S)
Tennessee Titans, Jevon Kearse (DE)
Washington Redskins, Doug Williams (QB)

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