NFL: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
USATSI

It took nearly two decades, but Frank Gore has finally received his college degree. The University of Miami held its fall commencement on Thursday where Gore received his degree, according to a graduate list obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 

Gore, who originally attended Miami from 2001 to 2004, was a star running back for the Hurricanes. During his four years in Coral Gables, Gore dealt with multiple serious injuries, including an ACL tear that cost him the 2002 season. Despite that, Gore still finished his career with 1,945 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, and more impressively, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 348 career rushes. Those numbers were good enough to get him inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2018. 

With the NFL calling in 2005, Gore left Miami without a degree. Due to his injury history, Gore fell to the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft, but he ended up being a steal for the team that drafted him: The 49ers. 

Gore spent 10 seasons in San Francisco and when he finally left, he had tallied 11,073 yards, which still stands as the franchise's rushing record. In 2014, Gore ran for 1,104 yards, which was the last time a 49ers running back hit the 1,000-yard mark until Christian McCaffrey crossed the threshold this year. 

Overall, Gore ended up playing a total of 16 years in the NFL, and by the time he hung up his cleats in 2020, he had racked up 16,000 career rushing yards, which stands as the third-highest rushing total in NFL history. 

Although he's now been out of the NFL for three years, the five-time Pro Bowler has clearly been staying busy. For one, he earned his degree. He's also likely spent a good chunk of his time watching his son, Frank Gore Jr., who's been a running back a Southern Mississippi for the past four seasons. Gore Jr. will now be entering the NFL Draft in 2024 and will be looking to follow in his dad's footsteps.