SANTA CLARA — Christian McCaffrey quickly has become a notable member of the 49ers in his own right, but the running back is inspired by a very prominent member of the organization.
McCaffrey spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area and shared how Frank Gore has inspired him since watching the Bay Area legend as a kid.
Both running backs have a bruising style of play while somehow avoiding big hits on the field. This characteristic not only allows a ball carrier to gain more yards after the point of contact, but can increase the longevity of their careers.
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“It’s a combination of a lot,” McCaffrey said. “I think it’s a mindset, it’s having extremely good instincts, vision and it’s comfort in the offense too. You watch him, he’s good at not just taking big hits but I think when you watch him, he knows when to deliver big hits too and be the hammer, not the nail.
“He was such a great back for so long because of that. He had all of the intangibles but the instincts and the things that are hard to teach, he had all of those things.”
Over his staggering 16-year career — 10 with the 49ers -- Gore racked up 3,735 rushing attempts for 16,000 yards, which ranks third in NFL history behind only Walter Payton (16,726) and Emmitt Smith (18,355).
Gore received five Pro Bowl nods and was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week five times while racking up nine 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Gore and McCaffrey have different styles of running the ball, but the Stanford product shared he looks up to the 49ers legend for more than one reason.
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“His longevity,” McCaffrey said. “I think just to do what he did for so long is unbelievable. That’s something that is tough to do. I just have so much respect for the way he did it and also his mindset as a runner. He had all the gifts you would want. The way he would finish runs, the way he would refuse to go down. It was fun watching him growing up. I was a kid when he was rolling.
Any time Gore is at the 49ers facility McCaffrey makes a point of talking to the club’s former star. McCaffrey even admits to being a little star-struck seeing Gore during a joint practice in 2018 when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers and Gore was with the Miami Dolphins
"Just being in the league at the same time as him,” McCaffrey said. “We practiced against him one time when I was in Carolina. I was like ‘Damn, that’s Frank Gore on the other field. That’s pretty cool.’”