The latest from Clemson RB commit Phil Mafah
By: Gavin Oliver July 13, 2020

Clemson commit Phil Mafah was able to resume working out with his Grayson High School (Loganville, Ga.) football team last month for the first time since the coronavirus shut down athletics in March.

The four-star running back is happy to be back on the field with teammates as he gets ready for his senior season, which he is hoping won’t get cancelled because of the pandemic.

“It’s been going pretty good,” Mafah said of conditioning with his team. “Just crossing my fingers that things continue to go good and there’s a season.”

As a junior last season, Mafah ran for 676 yards and nine touchdowns despite missing several games at the beginning of the campaign due to a broken collarbone. As a sophomore in 2018, he rushed for 720 yards and 10 scores.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder is trying to improve all around as a running back heading into his last year of high school.

“I’ve been working on a lot of things,” Mafah said. “I’ve been really working on my speed and going to speed training, working on my explosiveness, doing compact lifts, my balance, elusiveness.”

Mafah’s north-south power rushing style is his calling card, but don’t sleep on his speed. He recently recorded a personal-best 4.69 40 time and got up to 17.3 miles per hour on the treadmill — solid numbers, especially considering his size.

“I’ve been doing a lot of speed training,” Mafah said. “I think I’ve really made strides and I’m really happy with where I’m at right now, and I’m just trying to improve.”

When Mafah isn’t training on the field or in the weight room, he has been staying in touch with Clemson running backs coach Tony Elliott and the Tigers’ staff.

“I was just on the phone with Coach Elliott not too long ago,” he said. “I’m trying to be an early enrollee, so he was just talking to me about that process and things I have to do to get that done.”

Mafah became the first commitment in Clemson’s 2021 class when he pledged to Dabo Swinney’s program before the season opener against Georgia Tech last August.

Having been committed for close to a year now, Mafah is very much looking forward to starting his career as a Tiger in 2021. But first, he hopes to make the most of his final season at the high school level.

“I’m really excited. I can’t wait,” he said of getting to Clemson. “But at the same time, I’ve got something to finish here at my high school. I can’t wait to play one more time with my brothers, and I’m really looking forward to that first before anything.”

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