Sports

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James check the statistics every week.

They all want to know where the University of Miami's former running backs rank among the NFL's best—and more importantly, among each other.

These days, all the Hurricanes are looking up at Gore.

The San Francisco 49ers' budding star and St. Louis' Steven Jackson are tied for the NFL rushing lead with 465 yards after five weeks.

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Gore got there with a career-best 134 yards in the Niners' win over Oakland, also moving into second in all-purpose yards behind Jackson.

Gore was voted the NFC's offensive player of the week after steadily pounding the Raiders with his low-to-the-ground, high-intensity running style.

Though he isn't the tallest or biggest tailback in the league, the 5-foot-9 Gore's combination of power and speed has been tough to match.

"I'm happy about where I'm at, but it's a long season and I've got to keep working," he said before practice Wednesday at the 49ers' training complex. "Me and the offensive line have just got to keep doing what we're doing."

Gore is the first 49ers running back to lead the NFL in rushing at any point in a season since Charlie Garner had a league-best 693 yards after seven weeks in 2000.

After winning the starting job from Kevan Barlow in training camp, Gore is off to a dynamic start despite an offensive line that's still missing guard Larry Allen, one of the greatest run-blockers in NFL history.

Averaging 4.6 yards per carry, Gore is ahead of McGahee, who's third in the NFL with 439 yards.

James has 343 yards for the Arizona Cardinals, while Portis has 313 for Washington.

Gore has noticed all the numbers.

"Now I've got a chance to compete against them," Gore said. "We're competitive. We came from the same school. I know they're looking at me just like I'm looking at them. Everybody's looking at each other."

Gore also looks at himself.Almost every day, he watches highlights of his dominant high school career.

They're a reminder of the days before his surgeries, before people doubted the toughness he's showing every week in San Francisco.

Gore's coaches and teammates all feel his intense competitive fire, a determination created by his humble upbringing in Florida, several major injury problems and a perpetual feeling of being overlooked, despite his lofty college pedigree.

"One of the things about Frank is that hunger inside," said quarterback Alex Smith, also drafted by the 49ers last season. "He's not one of the most outspoken guys, but you can always see how much the game means to him."

Coach Mike Nolan knew Gore was in for a big second year with the Niners—the type of season that allowed him to trade longtime starter Barlow to the New York Jets—when he heard about Gore's reception when the Miami running backs got together in the offseason.

"They insulted him in the offseason somehow or some way," Nolan said. "It bothered him a lot. He's motivated to show those guys, because when he was there, he was the man, and then he got hurt and they got to take his place. Then they go on to bigger and better things."

"Frank has got things to prove. There's nothing better than having a football player who's good, who has something to prove, as opposed to a football player who thinks he has arrived."

Gore's biggest problem this season was a product of that determination: He fumbled in each of the 49ers' first four games, twice while trying to stretch the ball over the goal line.

He became more disconsolate with each fumble, berating himself and promising to improve his ball security.

Gore's career at Miami was both successful and disappointing, with two strong seasons along with major reconstructive surgery on both knees that allowed McGahee to emerge as a star.

Gore declared early for the NFL draft, but slipped to the third round amid concerns about his durability.

He was Barlow's backup last season, but still finished as the 49ers' leading rusher.

He had surgery on both shoulders in the offseason, but that didn't stop him from setting his sights on the achievements of his Miami predecessors—particularly Portis, his close friend.

"I didn't feel disrespected," Gore said of his offseason talks with Portis and McGahee. "I felt like I kind of got put in the back. I had an all-right year last year, but I didn't do what they do."

(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)