Clemson fans have been waiting for a vintage Phil Mafah game.
The running back was the catalyst for the Tigers’ five-game winning streak a season ago, recording an average of over 21 rushing attempts per game for 105.2 yards per game. He found the end zone seven times, four of those in Clemson’s Gator Bowl win over Kentucky, which was a school record.
Fans waited this season and finally got it, a 154-yard performance on the ground coming off of 25 carries in the Tigers’ win against Florida State.
The graduate senior finally got his big day, mostly due to the first team offense being on the field for all four quarters. Mafah had flashes of great plays in Clemson’s three game home stretch, but the games were blowouts.
“It felt great,” Mafah said to the media on Wednesday. “Just being able to be versatile in our offensive game plan, run the ball, pass the ball. One thing I just thought that we could do better is finishing in the red zone, [I’d] definitely like to see more.”
Phil Mafah
Mafah downplayed it quickly, saying that holding the lead against the Seminoles, which stayed mainly between two and three scores, was something that was important in the win. Florida State never brought it inside one score in the second half, which was important for the Tigers to continue to chug along.
“Overall, I thought that we had a great game,” Mafah said. “We stayed on top and, for the most part, there was no chance of them coming back on us. I felt like we held our own the whole game.”
The most rushing attempts that the senior had before last Saturday this season was 16 carries against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs. With a majority of the carries in the second half, Mafah was able to continue to bring the Tigers points, where the team found five field goals from Nolan Hauser to continuously add to Clemson’s lead.
“Coach Swinney emphasized just running the ball in general. I was just ready. It was the most carries that I have had this season, but it didn’t feel that way until the last drive, when we ran like a lot of run plays in a row. In my head, I didn’t run too much, so for the most part, I felt like it was a good amount of carries.
Averaging 99.2 rushing yards per game in limited snaps, a lot of that comes with the offensive line. The group continues to be revolutionized under newly-appointed coach Matt Luke, who have given Mafah plenty of opportunities for big plays, including one 56-yard scamper against the Seminoles.
With regards to the line, Mafah keeps it very symbiotic.
“I give credit to them every single time for everything that I do in the running game and every opportunity I get to encourage them anytime a play doesn’t go our way,” he said. “I like to encourage them [and] give them confidence and keep going on with the game plan because in football, there’s highs and lows, so you just have to continue and give it your all.”
On that line is Mafah’s roommate, Tristan Leigh, who has risen as one of the team’s top leaders on the offense. Especially with bringing the team together before the game, Mafah understands why Leigh has been the team’s energy player to lead by example.
“He has that natural energy, that’s just who he is,” Mafah described. “He’s a competitor like that, he likes to show his energy. Just because of who he is, the amount of work he puts in, we know that he’s not lying by going up there [and] leading the team, like he’s credible in the sense that he puts in the work. He’s grinded all these years and he cares about this team. He’s the perfect person to lead us in that way.”
When he was in middle school, Mafah was a basketball player. At Grayson High School, he ran track a “little bit”. From these two sports, the Loganville, Georgia, native was able to implement some of those things from those athletics into football, especially track.
“Especially with track, just me working on my speed, my running form and just discipline,” Mafah said. “I used to hate it, honestly. It used to be tough just running everyday. For the cool down, we’d have to do two laps. That used to be the worst part. . .but it paid off, so I’m grateful for it.”
Hoping that track aspect will come in handy again in Clemson’s next game against Wake Forest, as well as the mindset in facing an away environment, which the team did so for the first time against the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida.
“I’d say the other thing that changes for us is being our own supporters on the sideline,” Mafah said. “Everyone in there, most people, are against us, so we have to be able to hype each other up on the sideline and we try to do a good job all week playing crowd noise.”
“I don’t really notice a difference,” he added. “I’m pretty locked in the game and try not to let outside stuff affect me.”
