McGuffie was one of 23 men and women named Monday to the 2015-16 U.S. Bobsled National Team, setting the stage for a potential spot in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
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McGuffie made the team as a push athlete, a position traditionally held by an athlete who got his or her start in another sport — usually track and field. But plenty of football players have made the transition, most notably Herschel Walker.
Two other athletes with football backgrounds joined McGuffie as newcomers on the team. Nathan Gilsleider was on Oklahoma State’s team in the late 2000s but never played, while Hakeem Abdul-Saboor was a running back for Virginia-Wise — an NAIA school at the time that has now moved up to NCAA Division II.
A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sam McGuffie (@white_cricket) on Oct 25, 2015 at 2:16pm PDT
McGuffie, however, made an impact at the highest level. He rushed for 486 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman for Rich Rodriguez in 2008 before transferring to Rice in his hometown of Houston. After sitting out a season, he led the Owls with 883 yards rushing and was third on the team with 384 receiving yards in 2010. He later switched to receiver and spent time in camp and on practice squads with the Raiders, Cardinals, Patriots and Winnipeg of the CFL, but never saw regular-season action.
Now McGuffie will focus on using his speed — he also ran track in college — to held propel the U.S. sleds. World Cup season begins in Germany the first week of December and continues through the winter.
