If you had told me half a decade ago Sam McGuffie would one day be an Olympian, I’d have responded, “Of course. The kid’s a natural born hurdler.”
The former Michigan and Rice running back has made an Olympic team, but not as a hurdler. No, McGuffie is trying his hand at representing gold old red, white and blue as a bobsledder.
Former @RiceFootball1 and Cy Fair running back Sam McGuffie has made the U.S. bobsled team
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) October 26, 2015
Former @RiceFootball1 RB Sam McGuffie makes US bobsled team:"To represent my country is huge, always wanted 2represent my country n a sport"
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) October 26, 2015
Joining McGuffie on the U.S. National Bobsled team are former Virginia running back Hakeem Adbul-Saboor and former Oklahoma State wide receiver Nathan Gilsleider, among others.
McGuffie, you’ll recall, went viral before we even knew what going viral was as a Houston-area running back prone to hurdling fools.
He went on to a college career of mixed results. A four-star recruit, McGuffie signed with Michigan out of high school and racked up 118 carries for 486 yards and three touchdowns, making him the Wolverines’ second-leading rusher during the first year of Rich Rodriguez‘s failed tenure in Ann Arbor.
McGuffie transferred to Rice to be closer to home following the ’08 campaign and rushed for 1,057 yards over his three seasons as an Owl, mostly during his sophomore year of 2010. As a senior in 2012 he snagged 54 passes for 603 yards and five touchdowns, which was enough to earn him a cup of coffee with the Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinal and New England Patriots in the NFL, as well as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL.
McGuffie tried out for American Ninja Warrior (on NBC!), as you can see in the video below
But, it appears, McGuffie has finally found his calling - and it’s on the bobsled.