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McGuffie stays motivated

Cy-Fair's (Texas) all-purpose back Sam McGuffie is not what he appears on the highlight reels.
While McGuffie legitimately has over tons of views on Rivals.com, the lightning quick running back has a chip on his shoulder as big as Texas.
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"I know what everyone says," McGuffie, whose recent offers include Miami, Florida State, California and Iowa State, says. "Among other things, I can't run up the middle. I'll be a receiver in college. I haven't been clocked at 4.28 in the 40-yard dash. All of that just fuels my fire."
"I know I'm controversial. But people don't know the half of it."
His best buddies are J.B. Shugarts and Russell Shepard. He also was once on pace to be a junior Olympic gymnast, which explains some of the non-football clips on his Myspace.com page.
"I'm a freak athlete," McGuffie said.
McGuffie is seen back-flipping and training by running on top of street curbs, not to mention his freakish football clips.
"I really believe I'm one of the top all-around athletes in the country," he said. "I'm a 24-foot long-jumper and a 6-foot-8 high-jumper. I have a top SPARQ rating, and have one of the best shuttle and 40-yard dash times in the country. Not to mention, the yards and touchdowns I put up in Class 5A Texas football as a junior."
It's hard to argue with his production on the football field or the track oval, but how does he do it? Is it something you can teach or are you born with it?
"I've got a lot of praise for my running back and track coach James Reese," he said. "He never gets a lot of credit or is in the limelight, but he's a great teacher."
Over the past 10 years, Cy-Fair has been blessed with three talented running back/track athletes. Ryan Beard (Michigan) and Omar Conteh (Northwestern) came before McGuffie and have several of the same characteristics.
"Fans in the stands or people watching his tapes see exciting plays," Reese said. "But there are a few things that make Sam very good. We preach steps and patient speed. He reads and waits for his lineman to make their blocks. Then he hits the holes at that fifth gear.
"On film, the holes look huge because he is hitting them at the exact right time. If you have a running back who is a split second slower or not patient, that hole isn't there. That's what sets him apart. The other thing is that he carried the ball over 350 times and fumbled twice last year. He's just very skilled with good technique."
While McGuffie is outspoken, when it comes to narrow down his list, he get's very elusive.
"I really like everyone," McGuffie said. "I'd love to get an offer from LSU, but they haven't yet. Texas A&M is not what I thought it would be. It's way better than I initially thought. Oklahoma was tight when I went there. Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan, Minnesota, Cal, Oklahoma State, Florida State – they are all up there."
Hard to pin down, just like on the field.
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