Name: Frank Gore Jr. 

School: Southern Mississippi

Year: Junior

Position: RB

Measurables: 5’10”, 200 lbs. (per Southern Miss. Athletics). 5’7”, 199 lbs. (East-West Shrine Bowl)

Combine: 

Stats:

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

Did I decide to write a prospect report on Frank Gore Jr. because of his dad? Absolutely. Is he a legitimate NFL draft prospect? Without a doubt. Coming out of Killian High School (Miami, Florida), Gore was considered a composite three-star prospect by 247Sports. 247 ranked him the 65th overall Running Back and the 1028th overall player nationally. Although there was interest from his father’s alma mater, the University of Miami, Gore did not receive an offer from the Hurricanes, and would wind up committing to the University of Southern Mississippi over Florida Atlantic, Chattanooga, and Kentucky.

Gore was Southern Miss’ lead back as a true Freshman in 2020, leading the team with 708 yards with an average of 5.9 per carry, though he only reached the end zone twice. The Golden Eagles went 3-0 in games that Gore recorded 100 yards on the ground. He also recorded nine catches for 97 yards and a score. Gore led all Conference USA freshman in rushing yards, and was a Second-Team selection at the end of the season.

In 2021, Gore started all 12 of the Golden Eagles’ games and once again led the team in rushing yards. On 179 carries, he picked up 801 yards for a slightly less impressive 4.5 YPC. Gore’s best games of the season were a 162 yard explosion against Grambling State and an extremely impressive 123 yards performance against a nationally ranked UTSA team. It would be easy to write Gore’s 2021 season off as a bit of a disappointment, looking at the stats—but there is more than meets the eye. With injuries abound, Gore spent the last three games of the season effectively playing Wildcat QB for Southern Miss. As a passer, he went 10 of 16 for four tuddies and just one pick, while leading the Eagles to victories in each of their last two games of the season.

In a slightly more stable situation, Gore had a monster season as the leader of Southern Mississippi’s backfield. Starting all 13 games, the third year back racked up 1382 rushing yards (6.1 YPC) and nine scores on the ground, the first 1000 yard season seen in Hattiesburg had seen since 2017. His best performance of the year was a 329 yard explosion in the 2022 LendingTree Bowl, an easy career high and a NCAA Bowl game record. Gore also continued to take snaps as a QB, attempting another 16 passes, eight of which were completed with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Gore capped his career with his second consecutive 1100+ season, gaining 1131 yards and a career high 10 TDs. He also had a career high 27 receptions for 221 yards, showing some receiving ability. Gore was used as a passer more sparingly in his final season, only attempting six passes (all of them incomplete). Following the season, Gore was named All-Sun Belt (Southern Miss joined the conference that year) Second Team and declared for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Following his final year, Gore was invited to the East-West Shrine Bowl. Although he measured in significantly shorter and slightly lighter than Southern Mississippi had listed him, he had a stellar performance. A strong week of practice was capped off with the Offensive MVP Award for his showing in the game itself and firmly solidified him as a future draft pick. He has been invited to and is expected to participate in the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis as well.

Positional Skills:

Strengths:

Gore’s low center of gravity and compact build can make him frustrating to bring down. He’s got remarkable balance and runs with deceptive power.

Solid production as a receiver for Southern Mississippi. He could definitely find a role as a satellite back in the NFL.

That remarkable balance of Gore makes another appearance—he has an unusual awareness of his balance and excels at shifting it to slither out of tackles. It’s not just power he runs with—there’s some slipperiness to his game, too.

Gore’s history as a passer makes him a fun option for trick plays—use him on Jet Sweeps, Flea Flickers, double passes, etc. He has a unique skill set that will make him useful, even if he doesn’t profile as an every down back in the NFL.

Weaknesses:

Size is a definite concern with Gore. At the Shrine Bowl, he came in at just 5’7” and 199 lbs. Although there are exceptions, it is rare for a sub-200 pound RB to find much success in the NFL—and those exceptions usually had stellar 40-times, which Gore is not expected to have (though he has adequate speed for an NFL back).

There’s not a lot of twitch to Gore. Despite that knack for sneaking out of tackles, he isn’t a sudden or explosive mover. At the college level—and against C-USA/Sun Belt competition—Gore could get away with it, but against NFL caliber tacklers, Gore’s lack of wiggle and suddenness is going to be harder to get away with.

He plays like a power back, but Gore is no such thing. A player his size is simply not going to be able to push forward in a scrum. Gore is going to have to learn to seek less contact.

Fit with the Packers:

My top comp for Frank Gore Jr. is the Houston Texans’ Devin Singletary. Despite being a smaller, less athletic running back, Singletary has carved out a really nice NFL career thus far. He is a good receiver and a functional, efficient runner. Singletary doesn’t have a ton of explosive plays, but he is a steady, reliable hand. Gore is a few pounds lighter, but should test better than Singletary, particularly in speed drills. With A.J. Dillon a pending free agent, the Packers are very likely to look towards the draft to replenish their Running Back room, with the mid-late rounds the most likely place to find a complement to Aaron Jones and Emanuel Wilson. Gore isn’t going to blow the Combine away, he’s not going to be a home-run hitter, but I think he will be a consistent back in the NFL who can catch some passes out of the backfield and spell lead backs. And if you want a steady, kinda boring RB… Gore has historically been a good name to have. Look for Frank Gore Jr. to be drafted some time between the 5th and 7th rounds, with an outside chance of being a priority UDFA. I think he’d look pretty sharp in the Green and Gold.

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