'I embrace the pressure': Frank Gore, Jr. embraces his father's famous name

INDIANAPOLIS — Frank Gore Jr. and his father keep running into each other in the hallways of the Indiana Convention Center this week.

The elder Gore is back in Indianapolis this week, hard at work in his scouting role as a football personnel advisor for the 49ers.

His son is trying to finish off the process of following in his dad’s footsteps.

Gore, Jr., is getting ready to run on Saturday night, a likely late-round pick after four productive seasons at Southern Mississippi, and he’s not shying away from comparisons to his father, the legendary running back who rushed for 16,000 yards in a 16-year career with the 49ers, Colts, Dolphins, Bills and Jets.

“I’m not going to shy away from my name,” Gore, Jr. said. “I am who I am. It’s a blessing to have this name. … He had this name, he made it what it is. Now, I have the responsibility to take it further.”

Gore, Jr. rushed for 4,022 yards and four touchdowns at Southern Miss, averaging 5.3 yards per carry over the course of his career.

He learned the game from his father.

Even if he doesn’t quite run the same way.

The younger Gore measured at 5-7, 199 pounds at the Shrine Bowl, a little smaller than his father, who was listed at 5-9, 212 pounds and built a reputation as one of the toughest, most durable backs in the history of the league.

“I would say I’m more agile, a little bit more lateral movement,” Gore, Jr. said. “He’s more of a thumper, but I would say other than that, we’re pretty similar.”

The similarities make an awful lot of sense.

Gore, Jr. grew up watching his father play, wearing his father’s jerseys in San Francisco, Indianapolis and Miami.

“Being a son of an NFL player, you have to mature a lot faster than a normal kid,” Gore, Jr. said. “The things I had to go through as a child, he probably didn’t have, he didn’t have the expectations I have.”

When he was a boy, Gore, Jr. watched his father come home and go to work, sticking to a strict routine in order to preserve his body. Gore, Sr. always went to bed at the same time, always stuck to the same routine.

“A lot of things that I can’t really explain,” Gore, Jr. said. ““It’s an all-day, all-year thing. It never stops with him. Treatment. … That guy’s like a robot.”

Frank Gore: The making of Frank Gore: 'I've been through so much'

Gore, Jr. is chasing the kind of career his father had.

But chasing isn’t the right word. Not exactly. Because the two men are so close, Gore, Jr.’s quest to play in the NFL is more like a son going into the family business, emulating a man he admires deeply.

“Helping me weather the storm, helping know what to look for, what not to look for, what to do, what not to do,” Gore, Jr. said. “He’s been there every step of the way.”

He’s still there.

Even if he can’t tell his son everything he knows about the draft process. Gore, Sr., might work in San Francisco’s front office, but he hasn’t let any preliminary draft evaluations slip to his son in an effort to help the Southern Miss back impress teams in the draft process this week.

“Nah, he can’t do that,” Gore, Jr. said. “He just helped me become a pro.”

The older Gore was a third-round pick.

His son might not hear his name called quite that high.

But all his son wants is a chance to live up to the name he’s carrying. He’d love to play for one of the five teams his dad called home, including the Colts. He’d love even more to prove he has his dad’s staying power in the NFL.

“I’m going to set a higher bar for Frank Gore. I’m going to put that name on the map, too,” Gore, Jr. said. “I embrace the pressure. Whatever people try to make it, that’s what I’m going to take it as. It’s a blessing, for sure.”

When Gore, Jr. is done working out on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf on Saturday night, he’ll have a chance to hear what his dad has to say about his workout.

To keep following in his father’s footsteps.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Frank Gore, Jr. 'not going to shy away' from father's famous name