Remember Sam McGuffie, the former Michigan and Rice running back and four-star high school football recruit in 2008? He was the nation’s No. 17 running back before heading to Ann Arbor. His highlights, full of hurdles and broken tackles, were a thing of internet legend:
Former Michigan RB (and high school highlights machine) Sam McGuffie makes the U.S. Olympic bobsled team
Pretty cool!
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Monday, he added another title next to his name — U.S. Olympian. Team USA announced that McGuffie would be traveling to Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics as a member of the U.S. bobsled team. He will be a member of the push crew, as well as a brakeman for one of the two-men crews.
In 2008, he was a running back for Michigan where he rushed for 486 yards and three touchdowns, before transferring to Rice for the rest of his career. As an Owl, he played for three seasons and rushed for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, his senior season coming in 2012.
A native of Cypress, Texas, McGuffie played a bit of professional football after his collegiate career. He was in the NFL in 2013, splitting time between the Oakland Raiders, the Arizona Cardinals, and the New England Patriots. The next year he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League. In 2015, he was introduced to bobsled by a strength coach.
Football players participating in the Olympics isn’t exactly a new trend. During the 2016 Summer Olympics, a handful of former gridiron players did just that. Best of luck to McGuffie and the rest of the U.S. Olympic team! The Opening Ceremony is on Friday, Feb. 9.
The first Winter Olympics and how Canada RULED hockey
See More:
