Franklin Gore Jr. (born March 13, 2002) is an American professional football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and was signed by the Bills in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He is the son of former NFL running back Frank Gore.
Early life The son of former NFL player Frank Gore, he was born on March 13, 2002, in Miami, Florida. Gore Jr. attended and played high school football at Miami Killian Senior High School. He played quarterback and running back. As a rusher, Gore compiled 1,111 yards and thirteen touchdowns on 113 carries in his senior year.
College career Though originally committing to Florida Atlantic, Gore flipped his commitment to Southern Miss. 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. He was named second-team all-conference following the season, as well as all-freshman. Through the first ten games of his second season, Gore compiled 731 rushing yards on 162 carries, scoring two touchdowns. 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. In the 2022 LendingTree Bowl against Rice, Gore rushed for 329 yards, an FBS bowl game record. He also scored three touchdowns in the game, two rushing and one passing.
Gore was named the offensive MVP of the 2024 edition of the East–West Shrine Bowl.
Statistics Season Team Games Rushing Receiving Passing GP GS Record Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rate 2020 Southern Miss 10 6 — 121 708 5.9 2 9 97 10.8 1 — — — — — — — — 2021 Southern Miss 12 12 2–1 179 801 4.5 5 20 155 7.8 0 10 16 62.5 189 11.8 4 1 231.7 2022 Southern Miss 13 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 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 43 2–1 759 4,022 5.3 26 75 692 9.2 4 17 35 48.6 368 10.5 7 1 197.2
Professional career
Gore went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. On August 27, 2024, he was released and re-signed to the practice squad the following day.
Gore signed a reserve/future contract with Buffalo on January 27, 2025. On August 26, Gore was released by the Bills as part of final roster cuts; he was re-signed to the team's practice squad the following day. Gore was called up to the active roster on January 11, 2026, for the Bills' Wild Card Round playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, following an injury to Ty Johnson. He caught one pass from Josh Allen for six yards and no carries in limited action during his postseason debut.National Football League Game Summary: Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars. NFL.com. January 11, 2026. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
On January 19, 2026, Gore signed another reserve/futures contract with the Bills. He was waived on August 30 as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. Gore was elevated to the active roster for the first two games of the regular season and saw playing time as the team's third running back and fullback.
References
External links Buffalo Bills bio Southern Miss Golden Eagles bio