Conte, Jordan, Mohamed and Vereen go to Indy

INDIANAPOLIS -- Four former Cal football players have been invited to participate in the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine that runs from Thursday, Feb. 24 - Tuesday, March 1 at Lucas Oil Stadium. S Chris Conte, DE Cameron Jordan, LB Mike Mohamed and RB Shane Vereen are among more than 300 NFL prospects invited to the event. Visit NFL.com/combine for live coverage of the event.

At the combine, the participants will be put through a series of drills, tests and interviews with more than 600 NFL personnel from all 32 teams present, including head coaches, general managers and scouts.

Workouts will consist of position drills as well as measurable drills including the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.

The NFL Scouting Combine is one of the key tools used by NFL teams in preparation for the NFL Draft, which will take place Thursday-Saturday, Apr. 28-30 from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Cal has made a strong showing in the NFL Draft over the years with 25 former Cal players being selected in the first round, including the only two first-round picks from the Pac-10 in 2010 with the selections of DT Tyson Alualu (10th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars) and RB Jahvid Best (30th overall, Detroit Lions). The Bears have had six first-round picks and 32 overall selections since Jeff Tedford became the team's head coach in 2002.

Jordan will head into the combine after a strong performance at 2011 Senior Bowl. Jordan made five tackles and recorded 1.0 tackle for loss in the 62nd version of the contest that was preceeded by several days of activities showcasing college football's top seniors performing before more than 800 general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, scouts and other front office personnel from all 32 National Football League teams.

Jordan, who started for a North squad that was defeated 24-10, is looking to follow 2010 NFL All-Rookie squad member Alualu as a first-round NFL Draft pick and make Cal only the second Pac-10 school to ever have defensive linemen chosen in the first round of the draft in back-to-back years.

If Jordan is able to find his way into the top 10, Cal will become the first Pac-10 school to have defensive linemen selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft in consecutive campaigns. Only six times in the history of the NFL Draft has a team accomplished the feat, with the most recent being the selections of LSU's Glenn Dorsey (5) and Tyson Jackson (3) in 2008 and 2009.

Jordan played in 50 of 51 possible games and made 32 starts at Cal from 2007-10. He was an honorable mention All-American selection by Pro Football Weekly and a first-team All-Pac-10 choice for the first time as a senior in 2010 after two consecutive honorable mention All-Pac-10 campaigns in 2008 and 2009. Jordan finished his collegiate career with 175 tackles (88 unassisted, 87 assisted), while adding 34.0 tackles for loss (-122 yards) and 16.5 sacks (-89 yards) to rank just outside the school's all-time top 10 in each of the latter two categories.

Jordan started all 12 games as a 2010 senior for a unit that ranked first in the Pac-10 and 18th nationally in total defense (319.08 ypg). Jordan recorded career highs of 62 tackles (fifth on the club and first among defensive linemen) and 12.5 tackles for loss (-47 yards) for a 1.04 per game average that was second on the squad and fourth in the Pac-10. He also had 5.5 sacks (-32 yards) that were second on the team and a half sack shy of the career-high 6.0 he recorded as a 2009 junior, with his 0.46 sacks per game average 11th in the Pac-10. Jordan also added a career-high and team-high-tying three forced fumbles for an average of 0.25 per game that ranked tied for third in the Pac-10. In his final collegiate game against Washington, he recorded his second career touchdown when he returned a fumble 21 yards for a score.

Conte and Mohamed both accepted invitations to play in the 86th East-West Shrine Game following their senior seasons, although Conte ended up not playing in the contest.

Mohamed finished his Cal playing days fourth on the school's all-time tackles list with 340, while adding 20.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, seven interceptions (with two returned for a touchdown), nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles. He earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2010 (also first team all-conference by Phil Steele and second-team according to Scout.com) after leading Cal in tackles for the second straight year despite missing the only collegiate game of his career and having his playing time limited due to injuries in two other contests. Mohamed finished the season with 95 tackles and an average of 8.6 stops per game that currently ranks him second in the conference with the same per-game average that he totaled in 2009 when he led the Pac-10 and recorded 112 total tackles. He came on strong at the end of the 2010 campaign, totaling 42 tackles over the Golden Bears' final three games, including a career-high 16 vs. top-ranked Oregon that earned him Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career. He also had an interception that he returned 41 yards for his second career touchdown vs. Colorado, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and a team-high-tying two quarterback hurries. He reached double digits in tackles five times in 2010 (16 vs. Oregon; 14 vs. Washington; 14 vs. Colorado; 12 vs. Stanford, 10 at USC) to give him 11 double-digit tackle games in his career.

Conte played in 50 of 51 possible games and started 17 contests at Cal but spent most of his first three seasons as a reserve shuttling between cornerback and safety. He finished his Cal career with 157 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble, the blocked kick for a touchdown and one kick return for 14 yards. He had the biggest season of his collegiate career as a senior in 2010, making 12 of his 17 career starts and ranking third on the team with 72 tackles and tied for 23rd in the Pac-10 with an average of 6.0 stops per game. He also added 2.0 tackles for loss, an interception, three pass breakups, a forced fumble and the team's only blocked kick of the season on an Arizona State punt attempt, which he returned six yards for his first career touchdown.

Vereen played three seasons at Cal before announcing on January 1, 2011, that he would forego his senior season at Cal and enter the 2011 NFL Draft. Vereen graduated from Cal in December of 2010 with a bachelor's degree in Media Studies. Vereen placed his name all over Cal's career and single-season record books during his three seasons of action with the Golden Bears from 2008-10 after redshirting as a true freshman in 2007.

He finished his career ranked among the school's all-time leaders in rushing touchdowns (29, No. 3-T), total touchdowns (35, No. 4-T), all-purpose yards (4,069, No. 5), rushing yards (2,834, No. 7), 100-yard rushing games (11, No. 7) and scoring (210, No. 9-T). He also had multiple touchdowns in 10 games and had at least one reception in 37 of his 38 contests, including his first 33 which was the longest run by a FBS running back when it was snapped. Vereen played in all 38 games possible during his career at Cal, making 19 starts.

In the single-season record books, his 1,757 all-purpose yards in 2009 ranks sixth, the 13 rushing touchdowns he scored in 2010 are tied for sixth, the 12 rushing touchdowns he posted in 2008 are tied for eighth, and his 1,167 rushing yards and 96 points in 2010 are ninth and tied for ninth.

Vereen earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in his final collegiate season (also first-team by Phil Steele) as a junior in 2010 when he started all 12 games and finished the regular season ranked among the best in the Pac-10 and the nation in both rushing and scoring. His 1,167 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns on the ground and 231 carries were all single-season career bests, while his 5.1 yards per rush average narrowly trailed the single-season career-best 5.2 average he posted in 2009. Vereen ranked fourth in the Pac-10 and 23rd nationally with an average of 97.25 rushing yards per game. His 96 points on 16 total touchdowns rank him fifth in the Pac-10 and tied for 39th nationally with an average of 8.00 points per game. He scored a career-high-tying three touchdowns in a game twice - vs. UC Davis (two rushing, one receiving) and at Nevada (career-high-tying three rushing) - as well as multiple touchdowns in six of 12 games. He also finished third on the team with three touchdown catches, as well as fourth with 209 receiving yards. His combination of rushing and receiving made him the Pac-10's fifth-leading all-purpose runner and 53rd nationally with an average of 114.67 all-purpose yards per game (1,376 total all-purpose yards). Vereen recorded the highest single-game rushing total of his career at Nevada when he posted 198 yards and a career-high-tying three rushing touchdowns on 19 carries, including a season-best 59-yard touchdown run.