No ill will toward Miami, but Frank Gore Jr. has chip on shoulder after so many doubted

Frank Gore’s offseason workouts are the stuff of legend — a running back doesn’t just play in the NFL until he’s 37 by behaving like everybody else — and, in the summer of 2020 when the end of his career dovetailed with the start of his son’s, a miniature doppelganger was usually there tagging along.

Gore was still mulling a potential return for a 17th season in the NFL and, at the same time, Frank Gore Jr. suddenly seemed like he was on the trajectory for Year 1. With more than 700 rushing yards on nearly 6 yards per carry, Gore Jr.’s debut season with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles went about as well as anyone could’ve expected, especially considering he had less than half a dozen scholarship offers when he graduated from MIami Killian in the Class of 2020.

An early morning alarm, then, was easy to get up for. Two-a-days for an entire summer — just like his father had been doing for basically his entire career — were part of the price of admission for a 5-foot-8 running back trying to get to the NFL.

“After his freshman year, I had so many college coaches call me, trying to get him to transfer and the colleges who didn’t come to the school, who did say he was too small,” said Gore Sr., who won a national championship with the Miami Hurricanes in 2001. “When he decided to stay, I said, ‘You’ve got to think about those schools who said you was too small,’ and felt like he couldn’t play, couldn’t do it. ‘That should motivate you from here on out.’”

For Gore Jr., cliche is truth.

“I play with that chip on my shoulder,” he said, “just because I know people counted me out, and they always said that I’m too small and they showed hype to the guys that I dominated. ... I always have that in the back of my head.”

In less than three years in Mississippi, Gore Jr. has done all he could to make colleges regret passing on him. As a freshman, he ran for 708 yards and two touchdowns, with 97 receiving yards and another touchdown to earn second-team All-Conference USA honors. As a sophomore, he ran for 801 and five touchdowns, added 155 receiving yards and even started the final three games at quarterback, going 10 of 16 for 189 yards, with four touchdowns and only one interception.

On Saturday at noon, he’ll return home to Miami-Dade County to face the No. 15 Hurricanes as the nation’s leader in rushing yards per game after he exploded for 178 in the Golden Eagles’ season-opening, quadruple-overtime loss to the Liberty Flames on Saturday. The junior will be, essentially, the entire focus for Miami’s defense because of the variety of ways he can operate Southern Miss’ offense.

In Week 1, Gore Jr. was part of the action on 36 of the Golden Eagles’ 67 offensive plays — 32 as a runner and four as a passer.

“There’s one ball out there and usually it’s in his hands,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said Monday. “We’ve got 11 guys, and if you’ve got to be in your gap, and set the edge and get everybody to the football, no different than if it was Barry Sanders or Gore Jr.”

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Gore Jr.’s star turn at Southern Miss isn’t much of a surprise in South Florida. As a senior in high school, Gore ran for more than 1,100 yards on nearly 10 yards per carry. The only real knock against him was his size — he was about 170 pounds at the time — and the hometown Hurricanes passed on him to sign running backs Donald Chaney Jr. and Jaylan Knighton, who were, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, the top running backs in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, respectively.

Of course, the Hurricanes (1-0) weren’t alone. By the end of his recruiting process, Gore Jr. was picking from teams in the Group of 5 conferences, like the Golden Eagles and FAU Owls. It’s why he insists there are “no hard feelings” toward Miami.

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“It’s a business. They didn’t owe me anything because my dad went there,” Gore Jr. said. “They have a job, they have a family to feed, just like I do, just like my coach does here at Southern Miss, so it’s no hard feelings. I know what I’m capable of, so them telling me I’m too small and other schools telling me I’m too small, and all that just gave me a reason to prove everyone wrong.”

It’s a message Gore Sr. tries to drive into his son’s head. Motivation has to come from somewhere and external forces can help.

He learned it when he was in college and tore both anterior cruciate ligaments in the span of about 15 months. Whenever his son was frustrated with his recruiting process, Gore Sr. used his story as a reminder.

“I told him with my situation, me getting my two ACLs and people were writing me off — that was something that God put in my life that I had to remember to keep grinding,” he said, “to remember that what people thought I’d be.”

So far, the unorthodox path has worked out perfectly for Gore Jr. The Golden Eagles (0-1) use him as creatively as just about any team does a star tailback, using him in ways — and with a frequency — the Hurricanes wouldn’t have. Hattiesburg is also the exact sort of quiet college town suited for a work-obsessed Gore.

“I liked how slow it was. ... It takes my time off everything that don’t matter,” Gore Jr. said. “In the college level, you have to be on your A game or someone’s going over top of you, and being here just gives me the perfect chance to just perfect my craft and keep getting better, keep growing.”

He now also has his father in his ear all the time. Last year was the first time in Gore Jr.’s life when his father wasn’t playing football at a high level, so Gore Sr. shifted into a fan and full-time dad mode. He and his son talk on the phone every day, and Gore Sr. is now a frequent guest at Southern Miss games.

He will be there in Miami Gardens this weekend, of course, and Hard Rock Stadium will be full of family members and friends with split allegiances.

Gore Sr. will do his best to stay neutral. He won’t wear green and orange, or yellow and black. He will cheer on his son and cheer on his Hurricanes.

“It’s going to be a win-win,” he said, “no matter what happens.”