McCormack attended New Dorp High School where he played. As a senior, he tallied 58 tackles and 8 sacks, on his way to being named All-conference, All- Staten Island and All-district.[1]
He accepted a football scholarship from Indiana University. As a sophomore, he started 11 games at defensive tackle and had 32 tackles.[2] As a junior, he posted 36 tackles (ninth on the team), 23 solo tackles, 6 sacks and 8 tackles for loss.
As a senior, he appeared in only 9 games, recording 38 tackles (26 solo), 7 sacks and 9 tackles for loss. He finished his college career with 114 tackles and 16 sacks, which ranked fourth in school history at the time.
In 1995, he was moved to defensive end during training camp. In the regular season, he played both at defensive end and defensive tackle. His first start came in place of an injured Russell Maryland in the ninth game against the Philadelphia Eagles, posting 6 tackles (5 solo), one sack and 2 quarterback pressures. His second start came in the fifteenth game against the New York Giants, making 3 solo tackles and one quarterback pressure. He finished the season with 22 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 9 quarterback pressures. He tore his right posterior cruciate ligament late in Super Bowl XXX, while moving in for a sack.
In 1997, he made 19 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and 8 quarterback pressures (third on the team). He was declared inactive for the last 3 games of the season.