Like all of the players he recruits, Dabo Swinney believes in Phil Mafah’s talent.
Clemson’s coach has never been shy about expressing it either. Earlier this season, Swinney opined that Mafah was as talented as any running back the Tigers had on the roster at the time. But Swinney was patient with the true freshman, which made Mafah practice his given the depth the Tigers had at that position.
When it came to the thought of redshirting this season, Mafah said it wasn’t one that crossed his mind when joined the program in January after signing with Clemson as a four-star prospect out of Grayson (Georgia) High. Swinney admitted, in a perfect world, he would have liked to pick and choose which four games Mafah played this season with the possibility of a redshirt in mind since he was in a backfield with five other scholarship backs.
Swinney was going to give some of the more experienced ones like Lyn-J Dixon and Kobe Pace every opportunity to separate themselves in the pecking order. Five-star signee Will Taylor was also going to be part of the rotation, but Mafah said he approached the season with the mindset of trying to move as far up the depth chart as possible with his performances in practice.
And Swinney never relegated him to the scout team. Just in case.
“Just do the best I can and try to compete,” Mafah said.
It took less than four weeks for the numbers at Mafah’s position to start dwindling. Dixon was the presumed favorite to step in as the starting running back after spending the last few seasons as Travis Etienne’s primary backup, but the senior began the season facing team disciplinary issues that caused him to miss the first half of the opener against Georgia.
The situation didn’t get much better for Dixon, who fell behind Pace and Shipley on the depth chart after the Tigers’ Week 3 win over Georgia Tech. He left the program not long after, leaving Shipley, Pace, Mafah and reserves Darien Rencher and Michel Dukes in the backfield.
Clemson’s game at North Carolina State a week later cut even further into that depth. Shipley sustained a lower leg injury in the second half of the Tigers’ overtime loss that will keep him out for multiple games.
Suddenly, Mafah found himself listed as Pace’s backup on the depth chart ahead of last week’s game against Boston College. That’s when his new reality began to set in.
“I just knew if that happened, I would probably have to step up,” Mafah said of Shipley’s injury. “That Monday after the N.C. State game, (Swinney) just came up to me and just told me to be ready.”
It didn’t take long for Mafah to show that he was.
Mafah describes himself as an all-purpose back that can do a little bit of everything, but what Clemson needed him to do more than anything was give the Tigers’ struggling running game a boost. That started inauspiciously when the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder’s first career carry was stuffed for no gain on Clemson’s first possession, but Mafah eventually got going.
Using stretch plays, quick pitches and options, Clemson started getting Mafah out on the edge, where he ripped off yardage in chunks. His second carry went for 10 yards. Another went for 12. And early in the second quarter, he put his talent on full display to rip off his longest run of the night.
On first down from Boston College’s 35-yard line, Mafah took the handoff off tackle and darted through a hole before approaching Eagles safety Mike Palmer. Mafah spun past Palmer, sidestepped another would-be tackler and rumbled 28 yards before being dragged down from behind inside the 10, setting up the first of four B.T. Potter field goals.
“It wasn’t pre-planned. Just instinctive really,” Mafah said of that play. “I just saw (Palmer) and had to come up with something really quick.”
Mafah finished with 58 yards on eight carries in his college debut, helping Clemson rack up 231 yards on the ground for its second-best rushing performance of the season. Mafah credited Clemson’s offensive line for much of that success, but Mafah believes using that practice time early in the season to stay ready for his opportunity played a factor, too.
“When my name got called, I was prepared,” Mafah said. “I was working as if I was going to be the starter that week, so I just say that I try to stay prepared.”
Mafah’s first college snaps were further confirmation to himself that he belongs, which is no small thing as he prepares for a bigger role than anticipated going forward.
“I’m always trying to stay humble and just do what I can this year to help the team the best way I can,” he said. “But it definitely makes me confident knowing that the work I put in was able to be shown a bit on Saturday.”
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