SANTA CLARA – Here is the transcript of Frank Gore’s Thursday Q&A from the Niners locker room.
Q: You considered going to Ole Miss to play college football?
GORE: I was looking at wanting to play early. I thought going to Ole Miss I had a chance to start. But, you know, I had my mom situation. And coach CJ (Curtis Johnson), the receiver coach from New Orleans, and coach Kiel, they really recruited me good. They were like: “You want to be the best? Then come play with the best. I know you’re not scared of competing. Come to Miami.”
Q: You wound up getting a lot of carries as a true freshman. And then the following spring you beat out McGahee for the starting job, right?
GORE: Yeah, I was going to be named the starter. And I was a freshman All-American. I was just young, coming out of high school, wanting to play. You look at that Miami roster and they had Najeh Davenport, McGahee, Clinton Portis. If I go to Ole Miss, Deuce (McAllister), he was leaving. And there wasn’t anybody there. He was leaving.
Q: When was that trip?
GORE: I forgot. It was my senior year, though.
Q: During football season?
GORE: I don’t remember.
Q: Did you see a game?
GORE: Nah. But Eli was like, ‘Yeah, man, we’re going to be like Peyton and Edgerrin James if you come here.’ It was cool. It was cool.
Q: Had he been the QB at that point?
GORE: Yeah, he was the quarterback.
Q: But had he been THE quarterback?
GORE: Yeah.
Q: Thoughts on Giants run defense?
GORE: They play well as a group. You look at statistics and they say they don’t play well against the run, but when you watch film … in the Buffalo game, he had an 80-yard run and finished up with like 110, 120 (yards). So they’ve got to be doing something good, give up an 80-yard run, but only give up 120. It’s just that they broke down on that one play. But they play well as a group.
Q: Is their defensive line they similar to the Lions in how they rotate so much?
GORE: As a group, they’re probably more athletic. They’ve got some big guys, (Justin) Tuck. They play well together.
Q: How do feel physically?
GORE: I feel good. I’ll practice today, and practice Friday, and get ready for Sunday.
Q: Do you feel a lot better than (before the Eagles game)?
GORE: Yeah. Yeah.
Q: If you guys secure a playoff spot early, would you be OK playing less and less in December as the playoffs approach?
GORE: It’s up to coach. Whatever he feels is best for our team, for us. (That’s) what we would do. I don’t have any say-so, should I play less or whatever. Whatever coach Harbaugh wants to do, that’s what we’re going to do.
Q: Is there a fine line? You want to be sharp for the playoffs and you would need a certain number of carries to stay sharp?
GORE: Like I said, whatever coach wants us to do, that’s what I’m going to do.
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