I've been doubted my whole life, especially coming out of college with the injuries I had.
Frank Gore
You can be talented, but having great talent isn't enough. You have to work every day or someone will pass you up.
I tried the Xenith helmet later in my career and immediately wished I had done it earlier. It was comfortable, secure, and allowed me to perform without distractions.
When you come from Miami, you're used to winning.
I've been through so much. I mean, after an ACL, you have to learn how to walk again, how to run again, you have to get your head strong again.
My first year playing Pop Warner football, my mom had to change my birth certificate because I was too young. I was 5, I think, and you were supposed to be 6.
When you go up against the best of the best, you're ready for any type of competition.
As long as I stay consistent as my career goes, I'm good with it.
I set my goals high.
When something you love gets taken away, it hurts you.
When you think about retiring, you're done. You already checked out.
I'm not a talker. But I will show in practice the way I work and the way I love the game.
I train hard.
My first time playing running back in a real game, I had eight touchdowns.
Once I got into the league, I liked to watch LaDainian Tomlinson. He was nice, man. Quick, strong, great eyes, able to catch the ball.
I want to make sure I'm not the last NFL player to come out of the Grove.
I just always told myself that I can never get big-headed if I become successful.
When I see a guy on the football field huffing and puffing, I know I got an advantage over him.
I don't like attention.
I know that every team likes a guy who's going to try their best and work very hard.
Some guys go to different teams and as they get older, they just want to ride the coattail of the younger guys. I don't want to do that.
When you're looking from the outside looking in, you don't know what's in the locker room until you get there.
I'm not selfish.
You think about when I went to Miami. I played as a freshman, I go in and compete to be a starter, I tear my ACL. Come back, I start, I get off to a good couple of games and I get hurt again. You hear everybody saying, 'Oh, he's done.' I get drafted in the third round. People still said I got drafted too high, saying I'll only play three years.
But I look at Anquan Boldin the same. If you watch us, we're similar players. We're not the fastest, we're not the biggest, but we get it done. I think we're just football players.
People said I would be in the league for two to three years and then I would be done. I have been blessed to keep going, and also have success.
I've always strived to prove people wrong.
I love when people tell me what I can't do.
Defensive guys don't really understand. It's totally different for offense. Defensive guys are convinced they know us but they just don't understand. Quarterbacks have so much that they have to read and adjust to. They have to look at everybody on the defense. It's totally different for the offense.
I want to make an impact.
I don't care what age I am. If I continue to train and feel good and enjoy the locker room and this organization wants me and I feel I can do it, I'm going to do it, no matter what my age.
When I'm done, whenever I feel like I'm done, I'm going to come back and retire as a Niner.
My neighborhood, Coconut Grove, we always played in the streets. It was corner against corner. We all had football teams. Different neighborhoods.
My mom, how she raised me, my brothers, my cousins, when I was a kid with one bedroom for 12 people... You think about all that, and God blessed me to get somewhere and do something I love and do something I've done since I was a kid. And blessed me with the talent to do it.
If I feel like I can't play ball anymore, I'll stop that day. I'm not a fool. I respect the game too much.
My son going to college is a big milestone.
My coaches respect me - the way I come to work, practice and play.
Before I got injured, football was very easy, I didn't have to work out.
As long as I'm healthy and feeling good, I will compete with anybody.
I train with young guys in the offseason just to be honest and keep myself sure, to let myself know if I'm ready or will I be ready.
I want to show guys that when they get up in age, if you love the game and you go out and work hard, it shouldn't matter what age you are.
To be able to be mentioned with guys like Emmitt, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Curtis Martin and my man LaDainian Tomlinson, it's a blessing.
I try my best when I get an opportunity and my number gets called.
I don't put nothing past no man who ever played the game of football.
I'm not scared of any man.
How I pick running backs, I always go off what situation they're in. I look at guys and what they had around them.
I've been blessed to play 15 years.
When you hear coaches say your son is good, sometimes you think they are just saying it because it's you.
I take it one game at a time, one year at a time.
I could've easily gone the other way, but luckily, I had football and the dream to play in the NFL so I could do something positive with my life.
