Phil Mafah

HISTORY — From College Profile

 

Punishing running back who enters 2024 having recorded 345 rushing attempts for 1,772 yards and 20 touchdowns as well as 37 receptions for 206 yards in 984 career snaps over 36 games (seven starts) … is also 1-for-2 passing for 19 yards in his career … combined with Will Shipley in 2023 to form only the seventh Clemson running back duo to each eclipse 750 rushing yards in a single season since 1948, Clemson’s first pair of backs to do so since “Thunder and Lightning” James Davis and C.J. Spiller in 2007 … recorded one of the most memorable bowl game performances in school history, recording a Clemson-bowl-record four rushing touchdowns in the 2023 Gator Bowl against Kentucky including three fourth-quarter scores in a comeback victory.

2023: Fourth-team All-ACC pick by Phil Steele … recorded career highs in rushing attempts (179), rushing yards (965), rushing touchdowns (13), receptions (21) and receiving yards (108) in 506 snaps over 13 games (five starts) … combined with Will Shipley to form only Clemson’s fifth duo (and third running back duo excluding quarterbacks) to each eclipse 800 rushing yards in a single season since 1948, Clemson’s first pair of backs to accomplish the feat since “Thunder and Lightning” James Davis and C.J. Spiller in 2007 … Clemson was one of only six schools alongside Liberty, Louisville, San Jose State, UCLA and Virginia Tech to produce multiple 800-yard rushers,  and of that group, Clemson was one of only four to accomplish the feat with multiple running backs rather than one running back and one quarterback … his 13 rushing touchdowns gave Clemson at least one player with double-digit rushing touchdowns in a ninth consecutive season … his five starts all came in Clemson’s five-game season-ending winning streak … All-ACC Academic Team selection … rushed 11 times for 65 yards, including a 49-yard scamper, and caught two passes for 14 yards at Duke … notched the first multi-touchdown game of his career while rushing nine times for 59 yards with two scores vs. Charleston Southern … recorded a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time in his career upon scoring a touchdown amid his five carries for 42 yards vs. Florida Atlantic … rushed 10 times for 69 yards, including a 46-yard scamper, vs. No. 4 Florida State … helped seal a win at Syracuse with a late 32-yard touchdown run among his eight carries for 43 yards … rushed nine times for 63 yards vs. Wake Forest, including four carries for 33 yards on a game-sealing drive … gained 14 yards on five carries and added a three-yard reception at Miami (Fla.) … rushed 16 times for 84 yards with two touchdowns at NC State … recorded a career-high 186 rushing yards on a school-record-tying 36 carries with a career-high-tying two rushing touchdowns vs. No. 12 Notre Dame, collecting ACC Running Back of the Week honors … his 36 carries against the Irish tied the school record shared by Jim Shirley (36 against NC State in 1951), Ray Yauger (36 against Wake Forest in 1969) and Raymond Priester (36 against Maryland in 1997) … his 186 yards in that game were the most by a Clemson player since Kobe Pace’s 191-yard rushing performance against Wake Forest in 2021 … rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries and caught a 19-yard pass vs. Georgia Tech … rushed 23 times for 84 yards with a touchdown vs. No. 20 North Carolina … rushed 19 times for a team-high 89 yards and caught a five-yard pass at South Carolina … earned Gator Bowl Most Valuable Player honors vs. Kentucky after rushing 11 times for 71 yards with a career-high four rushing touchdowns … his four rushing touchdowns in the game broke the Clemson bowl record (three by Tracy Johnson vs. Penn State in the 1988 Citrus Bowl) and the Gator Bowl record (three set by many players), as he became the first Clemson player to rush for four touchdowns in a game since C.J. Spiller against Georgia Tech in the 2009 ACC Championship Game … three of his Gator Bowl touchdowns came in the fourth quarter, making him the first Clemson player to score three touchdowns in any single quarter since DeAndre Hopkins against Duke in 2012.

2022: Recorded career highs with 98 carries for 515 yards and four touchdowns and added nine catches for 48 yards in 308 offensive snaps over 14 games (one start) … All-ACC Academic Team selection … gained 28 yards on eight carries at Georgia Tech … rushed five times for 20 yards vs. Furman … rushed seven times for 30 yards with a touchdown vs. Louisiana Tech … gained 26 yards on seven carries at No. 21 Wake Forest … gained 22 yards on five carries vs. No. 10 NC State, including a key 15-yard gain on a third-and-9 in the red zone that extended Clemson’s final touchdown drive … rushed seven times for 36 yards at Boston College … gained 27 yards on six carries and caught three passes for 13 yards at Florida State … rushed for a then-career-high 94 yards on 18 carries vs. No. 14 Syracuse … rushed three times for 11 yards at Notre Dame … rushed 10 times for a career-high 106 yards with a 39-yard touchdown run vs. Louisville, earning team offensive player of the game after his 10 carries were the fewest by a Clemson 100-yard rusher since the 2020 ACC Championship Game (10 by Travis Etienne) … rushed six times for 24 yards and caught a 17-yard pass vs. Miami (Fla.) … gained 42 yards on seven carries vs. South Carolina … rushed twice for 10 yards and completed a 19-yard pass to Cade Klubnik vs. No. 24 North Carolina … rushed for 39 yards on seven carries in the Orange Bowl vs. No. 6 Tennessee.

2021: Initially planned to redshirt but was called into action following attrition at running back … recorded 292 yards and three touchdowns on 68 carries and gained 50 yards on seven receptions over 170 offensive snaps in nine games (one start) … made his collegiate debut vs. Boston College, rushing eight times for 58 yards … rushed nine times for 30 yards and caught three passes for 27 yards at Syracuse … recorded 14 rushing yards and his first career rushing touchdown on three carries at No. 23 Pitt … recorded a career-long 63-yard run — Clemson’s longest rush since Travis Etienne’s 72-yard touchdown run against Miami in 2020 — among his 69 yards on nine carries vs. Florida State … gained 21 yards on seven carries at Louisville … rushed 17 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 26 yards vs. UConn … carried twice vs. No. 13 Wake Forest … added 43 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries at South Carolina … gained seven yards on two carries vs. Iowa State.

HIGH SCHOOL

Unanimous top 300 player nationally … ranked No. 178 by 247Sports, which also listed him as the 11th-best running back in the nation and 16th-best player in Georgia … ranked No. 148 by Rivals.com, which ranked him as the eighth-best running back in the nation and 12th-best player in Georgia … ESPN300 member who was listed as a four-star prospect by all services … PrepStar Top 350 All-American who was ranked by the service as the nation’s No. 159 overall recruit, the No. 13 running bank and No. 15 player in Georgia … in three years at Grayson High, rushed for 2,526 yards on 288 carries, an 8.8-yard average, and scored 37 total touchdowns … had 10 100-yard rushing games in 29 career games … also recorded 20 career receptions for 224 yards and four scores … rushed for 1,130 yards on 130 attempts (8.7 per rush) in 2020, scoring 18 touchdowns and notching five 100-yard rushing games … helped his team to a 14-0 record and 2020 state title … had career-high 222 rushing yards on 16 carries against McEachern, a 13.9-yard average, with two scores … followed that with games of 23 rushes for 175 yards, 19 for 142 yards and 20 for 146 yards … had 676 yards and a 10-yard average in 2019, missing four games with a broken collarbone … recorded 720 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2018 … committed to Clemson on Aug. 29, 2019 as the Tigers first commit of the 2021 recruiting class … recruited by Mickey Conn and Tony Elliott … played for Adam Carter at Grayson High School … attended same high school as several former Clemson players, including NFL running back Wayne Gallman … attended high school with Clemson men’s basketball forward Ian Schieffelin; the pair played on the same eighth grade football team.

PERSONAL

 

Enrolled at Clemson in January 2021 … born Oct. 24, 2002 … earned degree in management in May 2024 … completed a microinternship at National Football League headquarters in New York in spring 2022 … three-time ACC Honor Roll selection (2021-23) … two-time All-ACC Academic Team honoree (2022-23) … represented Clemson alongside Dabo Swinney at South Carolina Coaches for Charity in July 2024.

2022

passing
ATT	YPA	PCT	YDS	INT	TD	COMPLETIONS
1.0	19.0	1.0	19.0	0.0	0.0	1.0

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
5.3	4.0	515.0	98.0	39.0

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
9.0	5.3	0.0	17.0	48.0

fumbles
REC	LOST	FUM
0.0	1.0	1.0

kickReturns
LONG	YDS	NO	TD	AVG
19.0	46.0	3.0	0.0	15.3

2021

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
4.3	3.0	292.0	68.0	63.0

receiving
REC	YPR	TD	LONG	YDS
6.0	6.3	0.0	15.0	38.0