Franklin Gore Jr. (born March 13, 2002) is an American football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and signed as a undrafted free agent with the Bills in 2024. 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 | |
Early life and high school career
The son of former National Football League (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
Though 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
| 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
| 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][12]