Frank Gore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frank Gore

Frank Gore in action against the St. Louis Rams in 2007.
San Francisco 49ers — No. 21
Running back
Date of birth: May 14, 1983 (1983-05-14) (age 25)
Place of birth: Coconut Grove, Florida
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Weight: 223 lb (101 kg)
National Football League debut
2005 for the San Francisco 49ers
Career history
College: University of Miami
NFL Draft: 2005 / Round: 3 / Pick: 65
 Teams:
Career highlights and awards
Selected NFL statistics
(through Week 17 of the 2007 NFL season)
Rushing yards     3,405
Rushing average     4.9
Rushing TDs     16
Stats at NFL.com

Franklin Gore[1] (born May 14, 1983 in Coconut Grove, Florida) is an American football running back who plays for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He graduated from the University of Miami.

Contents

[edit] High school

Gore was one of the nation's most heavily recruited and highly regarded running backs in the nation. He set a Dade County record for rushing yardage in a season in 2000 with 2,953 yards and 34 touchdowns in his senior year. He rushed for 1,559 yards and 28 touchdowns in 1999, in addition to 301 receiving yards and four more scores through the air.[2]

He also set the Dade County single game rushing record in 2000 with 377 yards and six TDs on 38 carries during a 48-0 victory against the South Miami High Cobras. Gore's performance bettered the mark of Markeith Cooper, who ran for 361 yards on Sept. 21, 1995, against Braddock. With the exception of Coral Gables' first touchdown, Gore—a 5 foot 10 inch (1.78 m), 201 pound (91 kg) back—accounted for all of Gables' points in that game.[3]

Gore showed outstanding strength and peripheral vision throughout his high school career. He was the third-rated prospect in Dade County by The Miami Herald, as well as the fourth best in Florida. Gore was listed as the best tailback on the The Florida Times-Union Super 75 list and earned "Super Prep All-American". That newspaper also rated him the seventh best prospect overall and the top-rated running back in Florida." [4]

[edit] College

As a true freshman for the University of Miami in 2001, Gore totaled 854 yards with eight touchdowns on 62 carries (a 11.3-yard avg), the third-best season total in school history by a freshman and was named Sporting News' Big East Freshman of the Year. Gore suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee before spring practice in 2002 spent the following season recovering from knee surgery. He returned in 2003 and rushed for 100 yards in each of his first three games of the season. Gore returned for his senior year in 2004. His little cousin Kim Gibson ask him to change his uniform number to change his luck discarding #32 for #3 and then ran for nearly 1,000 yards during the season.[5].

In 28 games with the Miami Hurricanes, Gore rushed 380 times for 2,500 yards (a 7.2 rushing average) and 20 touchdowns. His 1,975 yards rank seventh on the school's career-record list and his seventeen scores are tied for tenth.

Gore had beat out Willis McGahee in the spring of 2002 at the starting running back position while at Miami before his injury.

[edit] NFL career

[edit] 2005 NFL Draft

Gore was selected 65th overall in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft by the 49ers. Although his natural talent as a runner was remarkable, a less than stellar injury history caused him to slip to the third round, as did a considerabley slow 40 time for an NFL back at the NFL Combine

Pre-draft measureables
Wt 40y 20ss 3-cone Vert BP Wonderlic
210 lb 4.68s 4.31s 7.41s 34 in[6] 17[7] X

(* represents NFL Combine)

[edit] 2005 season

Gore played in 14 games, starting one. He was inactive for two contests with a groin injury. He finished the season seventh among all NFL rookie running backs in rushing average with 4.8 average per run. He led the team in rushing with 608 yards on 127 carries and three rushing touchdowns. The last time a rookie led the 49ers in rushing was 1990, when Dexter Carter paced the team with 460 yards. His 608 yards rushing was the highest for a 49ers rookie since Roger Craig had 725 yards rushing in 1983. He caught 15 passes for 131 yards. He rushed for 17 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 21 yards in first professional action vs. the St. Louis Rams. He rushed for 42 yards on seven carries with a 5.4-yard average vs. the Dallas Cowboys. He led team with nine carries on 89 yards and recorded career high 72-yard touchdown in fourth quarter at the Washington Redskins. The touchdown was the longest run from scrimmage by a 49ers player since running back Kevan Barlow had 78-yard touchdown run vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. The touchdown run was fifth-longest run from scrimmage by a 49ers rookie. He led the team in rushing for the third straight week with 5 yards on 15 carries (.7 avg.) at the Chicago Bears, with a 19-yard long. He made his first NFL start and had over 100 combined yards with 79 yards rushing on 19 attempts for a 4.2 yard average at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also led team with three receptions for 57 yards. He then saw action at running back at St. Louis, rushing for 68 yards on 10 carries (6.8 avg.) and two touchdowns. He had his first two-touchdown game with a 10-yard scoring run in second quarter and had a 30-yard score in fourth quarter. Gore registered his first 100-yard game with 108 yards on 25 carries vs. the Houston Texans. He had major surgery on both shoulders after season was over.

[edit] 2006 season

Gore was elevated to the top of the San Francisco 49ers' depth chart following the August 19, 2006 trade that shipped incumbent starter Kevan Barlow to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. He emerged as one of the top running backs in the NFL in his first full season as the starter. Gore carried the ball 312 times for a franchise record 1,695 yards, eclipsing Garrison Hearst’s 1998 record of 1,570 yards. He became the first member of the 49ers to lead the NFC in rushing yards. He also set a franchise record with 2,180 combined yards (1,695 yards rushing and 485 yards receiving), breaking Hearst’s single season record of 2,105 total yards (1,570 rushing and 535 receiving) set in 1998. His total placed him second in the NFC to Steven Jackson (1,528 rushing and 806 receiving, 2,334 total) and fourth overall in the entire NFL. In the 49ers’ first meeting against the Seattle Seahawks, Gore set the 49ers’ single-game rushing record by totaling 212 yards on 24 carries, besting the 201 yards by Charlie Garner on September 24, 2000 against the Cowboys. Gore had nine 100-yard rushing games in 2006, giving him ten for his career. His nine 100-yard games in 2006 shattered the franchise record for most 100-yard games in a season. Garrison Heart (1998) and Roger Craig (1988) each had six 100-yard games in a season. Gore was the first 49ers running back to have three-straight 100 yard games since Garrison Hearst had a 49ers-record four straight 100-yard games during a stretch in 1998. In those three weeks, Gore set the team record for most rushing yards in a three-game span.

His breakaway ability helped him finish the season with 5.4 yards per carry, placing him third in the entire NFL, behind only Michael Vick (8.4 YPC on 123 carries) and Maurice Jones-Drew (10.7 YPC on 166 carries). The 5.4 yards per carry are tied for the second best in 49ers history. Among players with over 300 carries, however, Gore’s season puts him in elite company. Very few times has a player averaged as many yards per carry as Gore did while carrying the ball over 300 times. The players ahead of him are all Hall of Famers and feature three, 2,000-yard rushing seasons (a fourth ranks right behind him).

He finished with eight rushing touchdowns, tied for the third most in a season by a 49er. Gore finished the season with 61 receptions, which led the team. Only two other teams had a running back as their leading receiver: New Orleans (Reggie Bush) and Philadelphia (Brian Westbrook). Of those, only Gore and Westbrook also led their team in rushing. He also caught his first receiving touchdown of his career at Seattle, when Alex Smith avoided a sack and found Gore along the left sideline for a 20-yard score. He led the NFL with 16 rushes for 20 or more yards. Gore earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice during the 2006 season. He grabbed the honor in Week 5 after rushing for 134 yards on 27 carries, and catching 3 passes for 38 yards, against the Oakland Raiders. He also won in Week 11 after his franchise record 212 rushing yards, and 26 yards on 4 receptions, against Seattle. After Gore’s tremendous season, he was named the starting running back to the NFC Pro Bowl team. It was Gore’s first selection to the Pro Bowl.

Gore had benefited that season from the tutelage of then-offensive coordinator Norv Turner, whose offensive scheme places a heavy emphasis on running the football.

Though Gore had fumbling problems at the beginning of the season, losing the ball once in each of the first four games, he improved his carrying and only fumbled three more times the rest of the year.

[edit] 2007 season

Gore signed a contract extension through 2011 estimated to be worth $28 million over four years on March 28, 2007. He also stated that it is his goal to surpass Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record in 2007. He said that he would gain 2200 yards.

Gore broke a bone in his hand in the non-contact Training Camp drill on July 30 and missed the entire preseason.[8] On September 13, Gore's mother passed away, due to a kidney disease. He missed a practice, but returned to the team and scored two touchdowns the following Sunday in a 17-16 win over the St. Louis Rams.[9] Overall he is considered to have had a down year (arguably due to the inept passing game's inability to draw attention away from him); nevertheless, his 1,102 yards rushing and 436 yards receiving ranked 6th in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage.


[edit] Statistics

Rushing: Receiving:
Year Ag Tm G GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2005 22 SF 14 1 127 608 4.8 72 3 15 131 8.7 47 0
2006 23 SF 16 16 312 1,695 5.4 72 8 61 485 8.0 39 1
2007 24 SF 15 15 260 1,102 4.2 43 5 53 436 8.2 23 1
Totals: 35 22 676 3,405 4.9 72 16 127 1,031 8.1 47 2
Stats through the 2007 season.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gore on Pro-Football-Reference. rbref.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
  2. ^ San Francisco 49ers official site
  3. ^ NFLHS.com
  4. ^ High School Profile
  5. ^ College Injury Report
  6. ^ *Frank Gore, RB, Miami - 2005 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange
  7. ^ SAN FRANCISCO 49ers
  8. ^ RB Gore to miss at least three exhibitions
  9. ^ Niners RB Frank Gore misses practice after mother's death
  10. ^ Frank Gore. NFL.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.

[edit] External links

Profiles
Preceded by
Willis McGahee		 Miami Hurricanes' Starting Running Back
2004		 Succeeded by
Jarrett Payton
Preceded by
Kevan Barlow		 San Francisco 49ers' Starting Running Back
2006-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
v • d • e
2007 Pro Bowl NFC starters
Languages