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INDIANAPOLIS – Mistaking Frank Gore's soft-spoken nature for a lack of passion on the football field would be foolish.
How Gore plays the game of football is why the 49ers still coveted the north-south runner even after 10 seasons in the league with more than 2,400 career carries.
"One of the most passionate, if not the most passionate football player I've ever been around," 49ers GM Trent Baalke said of Gore at this year's NFL Combine.
It's why Ryan Grigson was so persistent in his push to bring Gore to Indianapolis.
"Frank is a warrior that plays the game year in and year out at an extremely high level," Grigson told NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah on Tuesday night. "His production flat out speaks for itself."
So as Gore donned his Colts blue sweatshirt walking around the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Wednesday morning, he talked about the intangibles he plans on instilling this locker room.
"When they see the passion I got for the game, it will bring a lot to the team," the straightforward Gore said.
Gore arrived in Indianapolis on Tuesday night and caught up with Chuck Pagano, a man who recruited him to the University of Miami back in the early 2000s.
The connections within the Colts coaching staff don't stop there for Gore.
Colts Associate Head Coach Rob Chudzinski was Gore's offensive coordinator in his early seasons at Miami. Pep Hamilton was the 49ers quarterbacks coach in 2006, the same year Gore ran for a career-high 1,695 yards and earned All-Pro honors.
After a 10-year tenure ending as the 49ers all-time leading rusher, Gore sees "family" in Indianapolis.
Conversely, the Colts see plenty of durability.
Gore hasn't missed a game since the 2010 season and is just one of two NFL backs entering 2015 with four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
"I train very hard. I train very hard in the offseason," Gore said of priding himself on ringing the bell each week.
"When you are out there and you love the game, you try and take advantage of everything."
Running backs the age of Gore (32 in May) frequently serve as a stop sign in a pursuit of free agent acquisitions.
Gore's track record though (four straight 1,100 yards seasons) indicates otherwise.
Question Gore's age and he will counter with a belief that is built each and every offseason.
"I live by this, I will never let a man tell me what I can't do because I turned a certain age. As long as I got passion and love for the game, I'm going to try and be the Frank Gore I've always been and that's what I go by," Gore said on Wednesday.
The man who will be supplying chances for Gore to be himself in his 11th NFL season will be Andrew Luck.
While the two haven't met yet, Gore listened closely to Pep Hamilton describe the Colts quarterback.
"In talking to Coach Pep, he says (Luck) loves the game. Those are my types of guys," Gore said. "I feel the same way about the game. I can't wait to meet him."
"This is a great quarterback, a great team. I just want to show everybody what I'm about. I'm a hard working man and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get my new team behind me."
