Sam McGuffie was one of the first recruiting sensations in the YouTube era, known for his prolific rushing stats (he ran for 3,121 yards and 44 touchdowns as a junior at Houston’s Cypress-Fairbanks High School) and his viral-ready ability to hurdle defenders.
Like this.
The McGuffie Movement never took off at the college level, though. As a star addition to Rich Rodriguez‘s first team at Michigan, he carried 118 times for 486 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman in 2008 before transferring home to Rice. McGuffie played three seasons for the Owls, but his impact faded with each passing year, from 883 yards in 2010, to 158 in ’11, to 16 yards on five carries as a senior in 2012.
McGuffie’s football career ended there, but his athletic career did not.
He tried out for American Ninja Warrior -- on NBC! -- in 2015.
Then last year he turned his attention to bobsled. And he is quite good at it.
USA Bobsled & Skeleton announced its roster for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics -- next month on NBC! -- which includes McGuffie. He will be on the push crew with pilot Codie Bascue, and also join Bascue on a two-man sled.
🇺🇸⭐️⭐️⭐️I made the 2018 Olympic Team⭐️⭐️⭐️🇺🇸 https://t.co/06XvWoknU5
— sam_mcguffie (@sam_mcguffie) January 15, 2018
The US Men’s Bobsled team has collected 19 medals since 1928, including bronze medals in the four-man and two-man events in the 2014 Sochi Games, and a four-man gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The two-man competition will be held Feb. 18-19 and the four-man event will be Feb. 24-25. This year’s games are held in PyeongChang, South Korea.