Frank Gore – August 6, 2018
Monday, August 6, 2018
RB Frank Gore
(Do you ever get tired of training camp?) – “I love it. I love football. I take training camp to get myself ready for the season. That’s why I like to practice every day and go hard.”
(How much do you plan to work in the exhibition season?) – “I’m going to do whatever my coaches want me to do. It’s up to my coaches. If they want me to play in all four, I’m going to be ready.”
(You were listed as a co-starter with RB Kenyan Drake on the team. Do you feel like it’s now a competition?) – “I come out here and compete every day. Not just with Drake, but with every guy in my room. I think we have a good talented room. I think we all push and help each other. With me, whatever my coaches want me to do this year, I’m going to do it. If they want me to start the game off, I’m going to start it off and give them 110 (percent). If they want me to come in behind Drake or Kalen (Ballage), I’m going to do that and give my teammates 110 percent. Whatever my coaches want me to do, I’m going to be ready.”
(How much do you feel like you have something to prove this year?) – “I’m playing. I’m still playing. I’m still having fun. I feel like I still can play. I’m just going to try to go out there and do what I did every year I was healthy and try my best to be me. That’s go out there and play hard every down and try to go out there and help my team be successful and get some wins.”
(Is there additional pride for you in not just being able to keep playing at this age… But to specifically go out there and run with guys that are 10 years younger than you?) – “I love it. That’s the way I train. I train with younger guys in the offseason just to be honest and keep myself sure, to let myself know if I’m ready and will I be ready. If I can go compete with the young guys during training in the offseason, I should be fine during football.”
(You’re known for studying other running backs. Even some of the younger guys. Did you ever… In the last couple of years, did you study RB Kenyan Drake at all?) – “My first time seeing him was when they played Denver before we played Denver. I watched his film and I was like ‘man, I kind of see why they traded Jay Ajayi.’ He’s very talented. Jay Ajayi was a great back too but Kenyan is a very talented guy. He’s smart. He can do everything on the field. I think that me and him can really help this team be successful this year.”
(When you’re in your first training camp with a different team, what are the things you’re trying to get accomplished first? Is it personality off the field or stuff on the field?) – “I want to get respect from my teammates. I want to come out here every day and give my coaches and teammates 110 (percent). (I want to) go out here and compete and have fun. When it’s game time, go out here and show them who I am. (I try to) do everything right and go out there and play hard each game. That’s my main thing.”
(Are you aware of eyes on you for lack of a better word? Younger players like RB Kenyan Drake, on either side of the ball?) – “I feel like they should. I’ve been blessed, 14 years at my position, especially with the things I’ve been through in my career, especially coming out of college, I’ve been doubted. (I’ve had) two ACLs, two shoulder (injuries) and people said that I wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t be here for more than three years and I’ve been blessed going into my 14th year. Now I want to go out here and be successful, have fun and do whatever it takes with my team and try to get some wins.”
(You’ve played a ton of games, but to walk out there Thursday at home in Miami. Have you thought about it, is it going to be a little different?) – “Yes, it will. I’m home. I’ve been born and raised here. Since Pop Warner, high school, college and now the NFL. I want to be successful this year. I want to do some great things for my city and for my team. I want to show guys that when they get up in age, if you love the game and you go out and work hard, it shouldn’t matter what age you are. That’s what my goal is this year.”
(Do you think you’re going to play five more years?) – “I don’t know.”
(Do you go into a season thinking this might be it?) – “I take it one year at a time, one day at a time. Every day I come out here and treat it like it could be my last. That’s why I try my best to go every play hard. (It’s) one year at a time and at the end of the year, if I feel good and the Dolphins want me back, I’ll come back. It’s all on how I feel; but I just take it one year at a time, one day at a time.”
(Is there ever a season when you’re going into and you thought this might be it?) – “I never thought that. Never.”
(Aside from the physical aspects of it, is there anything from the mental side of the game – your vision, your studying – that you would say has gotten you to year 14?) – “I think my vision. My vision, my love and the way I train. You’ve got to train, especially when you get older. When you get older, you have to pay attention to the small details. That’s the main thing I try do.”
(Is hanging around LS John Denney, does that make you feel young?) – “(laughter) He’s 14 (years) too right?”
(LS John Denney is going to be 40 in December.) – “Wow. I didn’t know that. (laughter)”
(You have to give LS John Denney a hard time.) – “I didn’t know that. He does work hard though. During the offseason he works very, very hard. I didn’t know he was going to be 40.”
