Phil Mafah: RB · Clemson · #7.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Phil Mafah
Just keeps getting the ball, series after series. Four seasons in the Clemson backfield to date. All-ACC in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 171 rushing yards and 28 receiving yards against Louisville — Week 10, 2024.
Play style
Built to take 20+ carries per game. Volume is the value.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 18.3% of the season's rushing yards came on the 5 best carries — remarkably even — and the back is stuffed on 16.0% of carries. 2 carries for 9 yds vs Texas; 30 for 171 vs Louisville.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
47.2% of carries overall (205/434) → 27.1% of Q4-with-lead carries (26/96) — 76.9% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
19 of 25 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (76.0%). 11 of the team's 25 inside-the-5 carries (44.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
TigerNet Oct 31
Heavy Oct 29
The Clemson Insider Oct 28Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 14 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 3-34vs No. 1 Georgia | 16 | 59 | 3.7 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 2 | W 66-20vs App State | 10 | 118 | 11.8 | 1 | 83 | |
| Wk 4 | W 59-35vs NC State | 7 | 107 | 15.3 | 1 | 38 | |
| Wk 5 | W 40-14vs Stanford | 10 | 58 | 5.8 | 0 | 26 | |
| Wk 6 | W 29-13@ Florida State | 25 | 154 | 6.2 | 0 | 59 | 154-yard day |
| Wk 7 | W 49-14@ Wake Forest | 19 | 108 | 5.7 | 2 | 22 | |
| Wk 8 | W 48-31vs Virginia | 18 | 78 | 4.3 | 2 | 9 | |
| Wk 10 | L 21-33vs Louisville | 30 | 171 | 5.7 | 2 | 24 | Season-high 171 yds |
| Wk 11 | W 24-14@ Virginia Tech | 26 | 128 | 4.9 | 0 | 31 | |
| Wk 12 | W 24-20@ Pittsburgh | 17 | 17 | 1.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 13 | W 51-14vs The Citadel | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 14 | L 14-17vs No. 16 South Carolina | 20 | 66 | 3.3 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 15 | W 34-31vs No. 8 SMU | 13 | 28 | 2.2 | 0 | 8 | |
| Bowl | L 24-38@ No. 4 Texas | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 7 | |
| Total | 216 | 1115 | 5.2 | 8 | 83 |
Week 10 · 2024
L 21-33
vs Louisville
171 rush yds (30 car) · 2 TD · 5 rec · 28 yds
With C. Klubnik — 228 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 45.2 · 43 rush yds (12 car) · A. Swanson — 39.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 1 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How the yards come, and how often it works
Success rate
46%204 carriesFumble rate
0.9%2 of 216 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.2 yds/carry on 216 carries · 13% explosive (10+ yds) · 46% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
4 seasons under Dabo Swinney — 40-14 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2024 season · 14 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home7g | 87.4 | 7.3 | 0.9 |
| Road5g | 83.2 | 4.5 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 87.6 | 7.6 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 71.7 | 3.7 | 0.6 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dabo Swinney
Pass share
53.0%
527 pass / 467 run
Plays / game
71.0
14 games
Team sack rate
4.2%
565 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2024
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #40 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Clemson, 2,887 rushing yards — drafted at #239 overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2024)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2023)
ACC Running Back Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2021–2024
1 coachPlayed every college season under Dabo Swinney.
Next stop · NFL
Dallas CowboysEntering 2nd NFL season
Dallas CowboysEntering 2nd NFL season
