Jason Verrett is familiar with San Diego. Since January, he's trained here. He's rehabbed a shoulder injury here. His girlfriend of four years lives here. Now, he can call it home. The Chargers selected the former TCU cornerback Thursday with the No. 25 pick in the NFL Draft. He becomes the first TCU player the Chargers have drafted since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001. Verrett is a Bay Area native. This is what he wanted. He lived near Qualcomm Stadium when working out in San Diego, admitting in April that "if it was something I could control, I'd love to be a Charger." On Thursday night, it became politically correct to elaborate. "I definitely had a little bit of a moment driving past there, visualizing myself on the field," Verrett, 22, said. "We actually played San Diego State my sophomore year at TCU, and I had my first interception on that field. I'd like to get another one out there in a Chargers uniform." Cornerback arguably was San Diego's top roster need. Shareece Wright and Richard Marshall are its only corners who started a game last year, and each is entering the final season in his respective contract. Derek Cox was released this offseason and slot corner Johnny Patrick was waived, a duo that played more than 1,000 combined defensive snaps in 2013. Jason Verrett, a two-time All-American, projects as an immediate starter opposite Wright, although coach Mike McCoy stopped short of the declaring him a starter. Verrett, a 5-foot-9 prospect whose black dreadlocks hang well below his helmet, can play outside or inside. A likely scenario has Verrett and Wright starting on the outside with Steve Williams, a 2013 fifth-round draft pick, in the slot. - See more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/may/08/chargers-draft-jason-verrett-tcu-ccornerback/
