Clemson football: How Phil Mafah can add another dimension to this offense

A new face will take the field for the first time this weekend when the Clemson football team takes on the Boston College Eagles in Death Valley.

Freshman RB Phil Mafah was expected to redshirt this season, but that will not be the case now following the departure of Lyn-J Dixon and the injury to fellow freshman star Will Shipley, who know will be out for at least a month dealing with a leg injury.

The result leaves Clemson with just four available running backs on its roster: Kobe Pace, Phil Mafah, Michel Dukes and Darien Rencher.

How Phil Mafah can add another dimension to the Clemson football offense

Let’s be honest here when talking about expectations for Mafah: There’s a reason that the staff wanted to hold him back and redshirt him.

Mafah still has a ways to go in understanding the system and making sure that he is in the right position, especially in pass-protection, to be a major help to this offense. But that doesn’t mean he can’t contribute or make an impact in a major way.

The truth is that Kobe Pace hasn’t shown explosiveness in his running style, at least not yet. Michel Dukes, while he does show speed and athleticism, has put the ball on the ground at times and hasn’t shown to be reliable as of yet.

What Mafah can bring to the equation is that explosive power running that can turn into a big play. He is a big back at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, but still has great speed once he gets outside. Running between the tackles is something that he excelled at in high school and we can expect some of the same things to be on display here on Saturday when he gets on the field.

Look for Mafah to make the most of his opportunities and for him to turn those attempts– however many he ends up getting– into positive yardage and potentially even a big play at some point.

In a lot of ways, he looks like that Derrick Henry or Najee Harris style running back and it will be interesting to see if the Tigers having a bruiser like him– who has the explosiveness to burst into the second and third level– gives the offense a little added dimension over the course of the next few weeks.