Miami football legacy Frank Gore Jr. will return to South Florida with Southern Mississippi when the teams play on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Gore starred at Coral Gables High School just like his synonymous father. As a senior in 2019, Gore ran for 1,111 yards and 13 touchdowns.
In three seasons at Southern Mississippi, Gore Jr. has 1,687 rushing yards, nine TDs and 29 receptions for 252 yards and another two TDs. Gore Jr. will be the primary focus of the Miami defense on Saturday. In their season-opening loss to Liberty on Saturday, Gore Jr. had 32 carries for 178 yards and two TDs.
Gore Jr. also completed one pass in four attempts for 48 yards. The game against the Miami football team is a chance for Gore to show the Hurricanes what they missed by not offering him a scholarship. With a new coaching staff, none of the current Miami assistants were on the Hurricanes staff when Gore was in high school.
Gore Jr. was the 1,251st ranked player, 99th RB and 171st in Florida in the Class of 2020 according to his On3.Com recruiting profile. Florida Atlantic, Kentucky and Southern Mississippi were the only schools to offer Gore Jr. scholarships according to his 247 Sports profile.
Current Miami RBs coach Kevin Smith recruited Gore Jr. at FAU. Gore Jr. was named the
third-best under-the-radar player
by Maxpreps prior to his senior season. Gore Jr. was initially committed to Smith and FAU. FAU and Southern Miss were Conference USA rivals through last season under the Golden Eagles joined the Sun Belt.
Gore is second nationally averaging 178 yards per game entering week two. Miami is 37th in run defense after holding Bethune-Cookman to 93 yards and 3.2 yards per carry last week. Playing against Gore Jr. and Southern Mississippi is a big step up for the Miami defense. Gore Jr. should have a big cheering section at Hard Rock Stadium.