INDIANAPOLIS – Colts running backs coach Jemal Singleton has a rookie ball carrier in his position group this season.
Marlon Mack was taken in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Singleton, like every NFL position coach, is tasked with trying to instill into a rookie what it takes to make it at the professional ranks.
That's not easy.
But Singleton has arguably the NFL's best example of a pro in his very own running backs room.
Frank Gore.
"I can say to Marlon, 'Why don't you do everything that guy does?'" Singleton says, referencing the 34-year-old Gore.
"If (Mack) does that, he's got a pretty good chance to be a pretty good player because you don't do it as long as he's done it without having a plan, a system of getting it done, taking care of your body, how you work, all the little details that we don't ever see, sometimes as coaches we don't ever see."
Singleton wants to also make a point about Gore's active start streak.
Gore has started 92 consecutive games. The next best active streak? Just 21 games.
"His durability has been unbelievable and it's because of his work," Singleton says.
"He's not lucky. It's not by chance. It's because of the work he puts in on a regular basis."
With season No. 13 here for Gore, he has a very realistic chance to climb into the top five on the NFL's all-time rushing list.
NFL's Career Rushing List
- Barry Sanders: 15,259 yards (Gore is 2,194 away)
- Curtis Martin: 14,101 yards (Gore is 1,036 away)
- LaDainian Tomlinson: 13,684 yards (Gore is 619 away)
- Jerome Bettis: 13,662 yards (Gore is 597 away)
- Eric Dickerson: 13,259 yards (Gore is 194 away)
8. Frank Gore: 13,065 yards
How high will Gore climb?
No matter where he ends up on this list, a gold jacket in Canton has to be waiting for Gore.
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