Is Rams Rookie RB Inspired by the NFL’s 3rd All-Time Leading Rusher?

Jake Funk is entering Los Angeles Rams training camp with these odds: Two season-ending knee injuries during college and falling to the seventh round.

But one tweet he liked and responded to on Sunday clearly revealed his inspiration for his career.

At 11:30 a.m PT on Sunday, Bleacher Report tweeted out a graphic involving Frank Gore: Chronologically detailing Gore’s journey from sustaining two devastating knee injuries, to falling to the third round all the way to still running strong now at 38. The tweet caption read “This is what dedication looks like.”

Funk not only hit “like” on the B/R Gridiron tweet, but gave it this response.

The former Maryland Terrapin, who reported to his first NFL training camp on Sunday, can relate to Gore.

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Funk & Gore Had Truncated Collegiate Careers

Long before Funk played college football, he was three years of age when Gore first played at the University of Miami.

But events in Gore’s Miami tenure nearly ended his football career.

First, in March 2002, Gore tore his ACL during spring practice – which ultimately paved the way for Willis McGahee to have a breakout season. Then, with McGahee off to the NFL even despite his own ACL tear from the 2003 National Championship game, Gore was projected to be at full strength for 2003 at “The U.”

However, in an October ’03 game against West Virginia, he tore his ACL again, limiting him to just a five-game season.

Gore managed to put together a 12-game season in 2004, but couldn’t crack the 1,000-yard mark. Injury history had NFL teams shying away from drafting him until the San Francisco 49ers decided to give him a chance by selecting him at No. 65 overall.

He’s since become the model of perseverance for those who suffered ACL tears: Proven by his nine 1,000-yard seasons and 16,000 career rushing yards, which has him third all-time in league history.

Gore’s story draws parallels with Funk.

While at College Park, Funk himself had to overcome a pair of ACL tears. His first one came against Ohio State in 2018, which he said he felt his knee buckle on him during a kickoff. Then the following year, the same knee popped during the third contest of the year.

Like Gore, Funk managed to squeeze in one healthy year of NCAA football. Except, his one year was during the truncated coronavirus season of 2020. Funk pulled out 516 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns in a season bottled to four games.

Funk didn’t put together the kind of reel or season that would convince NFL teams to draft him in the first round, or in round three like Gore. He became one of three seventh round selections for the Rams.

But, as his former college football head coach Mike Locksley told Rams team reporter Stu Jackson in a June 30 story: “I really believe his best football is still ahead.”

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Funk Could Elevate Himself After Cam Akers Injury

The Rams will soon open camp at Irvine without their projected starting running back Cam Akers, who tore his Achilles last Tuesday during a workout session.

The loss leaves a significant hole in the offense, yet also gives Funk a chance to cement himself on the active roster. But Funk told reporters on Sunday that with or without Akers, his mindset is still workman-like.

“I look at it the same way if Cam was active or not: You’ve got to come in and prove yourself every single day,” Funk told reporters. “Yeah, there’s an opportunity when another running back goes down. But I don’t look at it that way. I come in to the building with the same mindset everyday and focus on me and try to be the best version of myself.”

Funk said he reached out to Akers immediately and shared what he went through, saying “I’ve just been there. I know what it’s like and physically, he’ll be perfectly fine. The mental side is the hardest piece that you’ve got to come back from.  And that’s something that, I feel, I can provide a little bit of perspective on that.”

But now it appears history has a great chance of repeating itself for three reasons:

• A back enters the league after two ACL tears
• He played his college ball on the east coast, like Gore
• Lastly, Funk was drafted by an NFC West team in California

And one tweet that caught Funk’s attention is a potential prelude for him to become the next symbol of perseverance like Gore.

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