The 2025 NFL draft saw three Clemson Tigers move on to the professional ranks. Linebacker Barrett Carter went to the Cincinnati Bengals, safety R.J. Mickens landed with the Los Angeles Chargers, and running back Phil Mafah heard his name called by the Dallas Cowboys. While Carter and Mickens have been getting their share of attention, Mafah has been flying completely under the radar. And now, head coach Dabo Swinney just shared some pretty encouraging news that Clemson fans should probably be paying attention to.​

Dabo Swinney recently revealed that he’s been hearing good things out of Dallas about Phil Mafah. He said the Cowboys are “really high” on the young running back despite his current injured reserve status. Mafah was selected by the Cowboys as the 239th pick in the 7th round.

Yes, that’s not exactly premium draft capital. But the organization clearly sees something special in the physical, downhill runner who punished defenses throughout his Clemson career. Dallas traded with Tennessee to move up and grab Mafah. This tells you they had him targeted and didn’t want to risk missing out on him.

The only thing slowing down Mafah’s professional debut has been a shoulder injury that landed him on injured reserve right before the regular season kicked off. He suffered the injury during the Cowboys’ preseason finale and was placed on IR in late August. What makes the situation a bit more complicated is that Mafah had already undergone surgery in December to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. This was an injury that he actually played through during his entire senior season at Clemson.

The thing about Mafah that doesn’t get talked about enough is that he was an absolute workhorse at Clemson. Over four seasons with the Tigers, he racked up 2,887 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns on 561 carries. His senior year in 2024 was particularly impressive. He carried the ball 216 times for 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns, serving as Clemson’s bell-cow back after splitting carries with Will Shipley the previous season. 

Mafah showed incredible durability and consistency. And his best performance came against Notre Dame in 2023 when he tied a school record with 36 carries for 186 yards. At six feet and 234 pounds, he’s built like a bruiser who thrives between the tackles. Dallas’ running back situation is still somewhat uncertain between Javonte Williams, Malik Davis, and Jaydon Blue. So, there’s definitely an opportunity for Mafah to carve out a role when he returns to health.

The fact that Dabo Swinney is hearing the Cowboys are “really high” on him shows the team hasn’t forgotten about their seventh-round pick just because he’s on IR. If Mafah can get healthy and show that same toughness he displayed at Clemson, Dallas might have itself a legitimate contributor down the stretch. While Swinney’s been keeping tabs on Mafah’s progress in Dallas, he’s also been dealing with his own share of adversity back in Clemson this season. ​

Tigers bounce back from rocky start

The Tigers stumbled out of the gate with a brutal 1-3 start that had people questioning everything about this program. But they just clinched bowl eligibility with a 45-10 win over Furman this past Saturday. 

“It’s a big deal,” Swinney said after the game. “Tim Bourret told me that in 130 years, there’s been 30 teams at Clemson that started 1-3. I think we’re only the fourth team to rally back and get to the postseason. That’s not what we were shooting for coming into the season, but you’ve got to respond to where you are. To see them respond that way and do something like that is awesome. Now we’ve just got to see if we can keep building momentum.”

The fact that Clemson (6-5) had to wait until nearly Thanksgiving to secure their sixth win says everything about how this season has gone. It’s the latest they’ve needed to become bowl eligible since 2008. But they still extended their postseason streak to 21 consecutive years, which is nothing to sneeze at even in a down season. Dabo Swinney’s approach throughout has been about responding to adversity rather than dwelling on expectations. And that same mindset probably applies to how he’s viewing Mafah’s situation with the Cowboys. Sometimes you’ve got to deal with setbacks and trust that things will work out if you keep pushing forward.