Franklin Gore Jr. (born March 13, 2002) is an American professional football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and was signed by the Bills in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He is the son of former NFL running back Frank Gore.
| No. 20 – Buffalo Bills | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 13, 2002 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Miami Killian (FL) |
| College: | Southern Miss (2020–2023) |
| Undrafted: | 2024 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editThe son of former NFL player Frank Gore, he was born on March 13, 2002, in Miami, Florida. Gore Jr. attended Miami Killian Senior High School, where he played quarterback and running back. As a rusher, Gore compiled 1,111 yards and thirteen touchdowns on 113 carries in his senior year.[1]
College career
editThough originally committing to Florida Atlantic, Gore flipped his commitment to Southern Miss.[2] As a true freshman, he led the school with 708 rushing yards on 121 carries, a 5.9 average. He posted three 100-yard games, against North Texas, North Alabama, and Florida Atlantic. He scored a 51-yard rushing touchdown in a 20–23 loss against UTSA.[3] He was named second-team all-conference following the season, as well as all-freshman.[1] Through the first ten games of his second season, Gore compiled 731 rushing yards on 162 carries, scoring two touchdowns.[4] He was named quarterback prior to a week eleven game against Louisiana Tech, and threw two touchdowns, leading the team to their second victory of the season.[5] In the 2022 LendingTree Bowl against Rice, Gore rushed for 328 yards, an FBS bowl game record. He also scored three touchdowns in the game, two rushing and one passing.[6]
Gore was named the offensive MVP of the 2024 edition of the East–West Shrine Bowl.[7]
Statistics
edit| Southern Miss Golden Eagles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | Rushing | Receiving | Passing | |||||||||||||
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | |||
| 2020 | Southern Miss | 10 | 121 | 708 | 5.9 | 2 | 9 | 97 | 10.8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2021 | Southern Miss | 12 | 179 | 801 | 4.5 | 5 | 20 | 155 | 7.8 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 62.5 | 189 | 11.8 | 4 | 1 | 231.7 |
| 2022 | Southern Miss | 13 | 228 | 1,382 | 6.1 | 9 | 19 | 219 | 11.5 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 50.0 | 179 | 12.8 | 3 | 0 | 228.1 |
| 2023 | Southern Miss | 12 | 231 | 1,131 | 4.9 | 10 | 27 | 221 | 8.2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Career | 47 | 759 | 4,022 | 5.3 | 26 | 75 | 692 | 9.2 | 4 | 17 | 35 | 48.6 | 368 | 10.5 | 7 | 1 | 197.2 | |
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 7+5⁄8 in (1.72 m) |
201 lb (91 kg) |
29+5⁄8 in (0.75 m) |
8+1⁄4 in (0.21 m) |
4.69 s | 1.64 s | 2.66 s | 29.0 in (0.74 m) |
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) |
18 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Gore went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent.[10][11] He was released by them before the start of the 2024 NFL Season and signed back to the practice squad the following day.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b "Frank Gore, Jr. - Football". Southern Miss. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Wells, Adam (December 19, 2019). "3-Star RB Frank Gore Jr. Signs with Southern Miss, Flips Commitment from FAU". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Willis, Jeremy (November 22, 2020). "New York Jets RB Frank Gore and Frank Gore Jr. score touchdowns on the same weekend". ESPN. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ "Frank Gore Jr. College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Mohr, Dani (November 20, 2021). "Frank Gore Jr. steps in at QB, helps lead Southern Mississippi to second win of season". Sporting News. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Eckert, David (December 18, 2022). "Historic Frank Gore Jr. performance leads Southern Miss football over Rice". Hattiesburg American. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
- ^ @garrettpodell (February 1, 2024). "Frank Gore Jr. wins the East-West Shrine Bowl Offensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Frank Gore Jr. Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Frank Gore Jr. College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Kownack, Bobby (April 27, 2024). "Bills signing undrafted free-agent RB Frank Gore Jr., son of five-time Pro Bowler Frank Gore". NFL.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ^ White, Alec; Glab, Maddy (May 9, 2024). "Get to know these 12 undrafted free agent signings for Bills rookie minicamp". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ Wong, Kristen (August 27, 2024). "Bills Part Ways With RB Frank Gore Jr. Despite Impressive Preseason". SI.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Josh (August 28, 2024). "2024 NFL practice squad tracker: Full list of team-by-team moves, signings for all 32 clubs after cut deadline". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.