Dabo Swinney plans to feed Clemson RB Phil Mafah 'a buffet' of carries in 2024

Clemson RB Phil Mafah has a backfield to himself for the first time in his time with the Tigers. That kind of snap share is going to set up a significant senior season for him according to Dabo Swinney.

Swinney spoke about Mafah’s upcoming year while at the desk during ACC Media Days from Charlotte on Thursday. Their plan is to let him eat with the amount of carries he’ll receive with him no longer splitting them with another back like a Will Shipley.

“Man, just a buffet, you know?” said Swinney. “All he wants.”

“It’s going to be great,” Swinney said. “That’s one of the reasons I think he came back – to be the guy. He wants an opportunity.”

Mafah and Shipley have shared the run game for Clemson over the last three years. They have rushed for 4,520 yards on 871 carries, good for 5.2 per touch, to score 51 touchdowns overall as a duo. That accounted for 55.6% of the touches in the run game to produce 64.8% of the yardage and 63.4% of the scores for the Tigers.

However, in 2023, Mafah surpassed Shipley statistically for the first time. He did so by leading them in rushing with 965 yards and 13 scores on 179 carries. He really rolled from November on, though, with 526 yards and seven touchdowns on 106 touches over their final five.

That final month plus of last season is what Swinney now hopes to see him carry over for 2024.

“This year, I mean, he has got the opportunity to hopefully pick up where he finished off. He had an amazing finish,” said Swinney. “You know, it started in that Notre Dame game. That was great and just propelled him all the way to the end, the last play of a three-yard run with like 17 seconds on the goal line to win that last game in the Gator Bowl.”

From there, the question is how the rest of the position after Mafah develops going into the year.

“The competition is going to be those guys behind him. We’re excited about that,” Swinney noted. “We’ve got some good young talent. Excited to see how that goes in camp.”

Mafah is now going to be the feature back this season for the Clemson offense. Feature is the key adjective there with how many carries he’s going to have his chance at during the year.

“He has had a great offseason,” said Swinney. “He’s a great young man, a great leader. Y’all will probably get a chance to visit with him today. He’s special.”

“We’re going to hand that ball to Phil a lot. A lot.”