Mo Mafah, Mo Betta: Swinney defends use of workhorse back

Mafah is closing in on his first thousand-yard season.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Nov 13 08:00:01 GMT-05:00 2024

If you’re watching a Clemson football game and it seems like senior running back Phil Mafah never comes off the field, you aren’t imagining things. Mafah almost never comes off the field.

The Loganville (GA) Grayson product leads the Tigers with 161 carries for 981 yards. At some point in the first half Saturday at Pitt, the burly back should crack the thousand-yard barrier for the first time in his career (he had 179 carries for 965 yards last season).

Mafah also averages 6.09 yards per carry, which is easily the highest mark of his career. He’s still of last season’s career-high 13 touchdowns (he has eight this season), but he could easily tie that with a productive few games.

What has allowed Mafah to have such a stellar season? Head coach Dabo Swinney knows the answer.

"The offensive line. It doesn't happen without those guys up front and the decisions that Cade (Klubnik) makes, especially post-snap. Mafah would be the first to tell you. Phil is just steady. He's just a smart player, and he understands patience. He understands the run schemes and understands defense. He's just a really talented player."

Mafah’s 161 carries are the most on the team, and Klubnik is second with 68 carries for 300 yards. Backup Jay Haynes has just 31 carries for 150 yards, and Keith Adams has 22 carries for 84 yards. Freshman David Eziomume has played in just two games and has seven carries, while Jarvis Green has played in four games and has six carries.

However, Mafah has played 497 snaps, and after 51 and 53 against Wake Forest and Virginia, respectively, he has played a whopping 176 snaps the last two weeks. That includes a 98-snap effort against Louisville and 78 snaps at Virginia Tech last week.

Haynes has just 101 snaps this season but only seven over the last two weeks (with one carry). Adams hasn’t played since logging eight snaps against Virginia, Eziomume (who the coaches hope to redshirt) hasn’t played since NC State, and Green has failed to appear in five games, played just special teams in two others, and logged four snaps against NC State and five against Wake. Green hasn’t seen a snap in the backfield since Wake.

Swinney was asked if he wanted to get those backs more carries to take some of the load off of Mafah, who is battling a sore shoulder. Swinney said no.

"Mo Mafah, mo betta. I ain't worried about anything else,” Swinney said. “This is the championship phase, man. We have all the confidence in the world in other guys. Why would we want to take Mafah out? He's a horse. Games are on the line. We're trying to win the game and we have our best players in the game. We love Jay Haynes. We love Eziomume. We love Keith Adams. Mafah is just our best player. He's been on that sideline enough. This is his time. He has come through for us in a big way. So mo Mafah."