Latest news with #Mafah
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
A true freshman the secret to life after Phil Mafah? Fox Sport thinks so
A true freshman the secret to life after Phil Mafah? Fox Sport thinks so The Tigers are returning the most production of any team in college football. But the one area where Clemson suffered the most after the 2024-25 season is at the running back position. Phil Mafah was a certified dog at tailback, but now he's a Dallas Cowboy after being selected 239th overall in the seventh round in the 2025 NFL draft. Behind Mafah's team-leading 1,115 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, only quarterback Cade Klubnik rushed for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. So, who can Dabo Swinney find to replace Mafah? Clemson football in 2025- Who replaces Phil Mafah? Most likely, the rushing production will be by committee. The leading running back behind Mafah was Jay Haynes, but he tore his ACL against SMU in the ACC Championship. He will most likely return by the start of the season, but at what capacity? That leaves Keith Adams Jr., David Eziomume, Jarvis Green, wideout-turned-RB Adam Randall, and finally, true freshman Gideon Davidson. And while Davidson might be a freshman, don't be surprised to see him as a major piece in the Tigers' rushing game next season. Randall started with the first-team offense in the spring game ahead of Davidson, but the early enrollee showcased his skills, too, especially in the passing game. Gideon Davidson a top 10 impact freshman With all the uncertainty at RB, Fox Sports college football and basketball writer Michael Cohen believes that's all Gideon needs to get his foot in the door. As an RB in high school, the 94-rated four-star (per 247Sports) eclipsed 1,000 all four years he played for the Liberty Christian Academy Bulldogs. In his final two seasons, he broke 2,000 yards, including an out-of-this-world junior campaign: 2,716 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 12.9 yards per carry. National recruiting analyst Brian Dohn had this to say about the Virginia native: "[Davidson is a] patient runner with vision and knows how to set up blocks. Quick feet with stop-start ability. Accelerates well through the hole. Has speed to finish runs. Best suited to run between tackles. Body control to make subtle cuts at second level. Difficult to arm tackle. Shows cut-back ability. instinctual runner can make defenders miss in hole. Solid pass catcher who lines up wide… Can be early contributor in high-level college program." Gideon is only one of two non-five-star recruits on Cohen's list. Defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart at USC is the other four-star. The rest of the list includes the No. 1 prospect from the 2025 class, Michiagan's five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, Oregon wide receiver Dakorian Moore, cornerback Devin Sanchez from Ohio State, offensive tackle David Sanders at Tennessee, Texas' WR Kaliq Lockett, CB from LSU DJ Pickett, Michigan OT Andrew Babaloa, and finally, Linkon Cure, a tight end at Kansas State.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
3 young players Cowboys may try to hide during preseason game
3 young players Cowboys may try to hide during preseason game One of the oldest tricks in the book is for an NFL team to try and hide a player they think has immense upside but isn't ready to contribute right away. Sometimes that is taken to the extreme, where a very minor injury is made out to be season-ending, allowing the club to stash a young player on injured reserve. That let's the youngster still attend meetings and work with the strength and conditioning staff, but bars them from actually practicing with the club. The Dallas Cowboys are well known to employ this tactic. Another, less obvious way, is to limit a player's exposure to the rest of the league. Back when there were four preseason games, players who might not be ready for a role that year would get some burn in the first exhibition, then mysteriously disappear from the rotation as the veterans worked their way into regular-season shape with increased activity the following week. By the fourth game, the run sheet was rookies who were expected to contribute but needed game action and players auditioning for other teams as trade bait or as a nice gesture before they were released. Players who the club thought were going to be contributors, but not without much more seasoning, were often held out from game film so hungry teams with lesser rosters wouldn't try to poach them after cutdown day. The original team hopes it can sneak these players back onto their own practice squads. This year's 90-man roster, 91 with the IPP exemption, may have a couple of candidates for such activity. RB Phil Mafah The 2025 running back class was extremely deep compared to recent draft years. It allowed players to be selected a round later than where they'd normally be projected, sometimes two rounds. As such, the Cowboys grabbed Jaydon Blue in the fifth round when in other year's he'd be a fourth rounder. It allowed them to snag Phil Mafah in the seventh when he could have very easily been in the sixth, or maybe fifth. Mafah is a brusing back who does have some long speed, but barring injury or another acquisition, the Cowboys' depth chart seems pretty secure with Javonte Williams, Blue and Miles Sanders. Hunter Luepke may be transitioning to an H-Back role, serving as a multi-use weapon, including short yardage runs. That would mean the team would stash Mafah on the practice squad, but if he shines in the preseason, than any of the 32 other clubs which are unhappy with their rooms might be looking around the league to poach someone. TE Rivaldo Fairweather There's a name which keeps creeping up into folks conversations as an afterthought, so he apparently sits clearly in the "coaches might think they have something" category: Fairweather. The former Auburn product transferred from FIU and had pretty decent numbers across his final three years in college. The Dallas depth chart at tight end is in flux. Jake Ferguson will be TE1, but is in the walk year of his contract and had an all-time bad 2024 season. Luke Schoonmaker is trying to avoid the bust label as a former second-round pick entering Year 3 and may be getting passed on the depth chart by second-year UDFA Brevyn Spann-Ford. That can all lead to Fairweather having a role similar to Spann-Ford as a rookie but it could mean he'll initially need to be stashed to the side. DB Alijah Clark The Cowboys grabbed nine players in this year's draft, but they didn't have the usually ballyhooed UDFA haul fans are accustomed to seeing. One standout name though was Syracuse's Clark, who spent time as both a safety and nickel corner for the Orange. The Cowboys may be doing patch work at the nickel position in 2025 and they could be looking for help at safety in the near future with Donovan WIlson's contract expiring and questions as to Malik Hooker's long-term fit in Matt Eberflus' scheme. Clark could just as likely be a one-camp-and-done player, or he could shine as a future rotational guy that the club wants to keep away from any poachers.
Miami Herald
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cowboys New ‘Marion The Barbarian' Comp Has Fans Fired Up
FRISCO - Phil Mafah showed up to The Star for rookie minicamp last week brimming with confidence, much of it born from a running style that puts on display his belief that he can "out-physical'' his opponent. And yes, that style reminds Dallas Cowboys fans of an all-time favorite. Can the former Clemson star Mafah really live up to the comparison to former Cowboys fan favorite Marion Barber? During his final year at Clemson, Mafah plowed his way to 1,115 yards and eight touchdowns. And over the course of his four-year career with the Tigers, the bruising back totaled 2,887 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry, with 28 total TDs. The 6-1, 230-pound Mafah seems slightly resentful at the suggestion that he's "only'' a power back, and that's fair. Maybe, like Barber, he's more than that. NFL scouting "comps'' are never fully fair. But they do provide some shorthand - and not just for fans and media, but for the real scouts and coaches, too - as to a player's skill set and style. Do some people look at Mafah and see Marion Barber? That works. Barber, who sadly passed away in 2022 at the age of 38, wasn't just a physical back. He was a punishing one. Barber - who came to Dallas as a fourth-round pick and played here from 2005 to 2010 - was 5-11 and 218 and he initiated contact, pushed downhill ... and seemed to savor it. Can a seventh-round rookie mimic that? "It's a mentality," Mafah said. "My approach to the game is I got to be the toughest dude on the field, that's how you got to play the game, especially at the running back position. So I put it on the line for my teammates, and I expect them to do the same. So that's all you see out there for me." Mafah checks in at a sturdy 6-1, 230. ... and for all of the talk, he's got a steep hill to scale right now. Dallas didn't stand pat this offseason as the Cowboys signed Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders in free agency, then doubled down by drafting explosive rookie Jaydon Blue in Round 5 and Mafah after that If for Cowboys fans, the "Marion the Barbarian'' comp fits? Then new coach Brian Schottenheimer can play his "MartyBall'' (like his late father) and new offensive coordinator Klayton Adams (an offensive line coach at heart) can play ball-control and Cowboys Nation might just have itself a new fan favorite. Related: Cowboys Sign Dak Prescott Freakish New Quarterback Backup Related: Cowboys Amari Cooper Signing Rumor Is More 'Desperate' Than 'Dreamy' Copyright 2025 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cowboys Build Perfect 'Thunder and Lightning' Backfield With Blue and Mafah
When you study Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, the Dallas Cowboys' 2025 draft picks at running back, one thing becomes very clear: there's dynamic ability in the backfield again. Let's start with Blue. The electric Texas product was clocked at a blistering 22.3 MPH in college — putting him in rare company with NFL burners like KaVontae Turpin and Raheem Mostert as the only ball carriers to reach that speed last year, per NextGenStats. Advertisement His 10.7 second 100-meter dash in high school further backs up what you see on film: effortless acceleration, home-run threat ability, and natural hands that make him as dangerous from the slot as he is from the backfield. In fact, no running back lined up in the slot more often in 2024 than Blue. Yes, the fumble issue at Texas needs to be cleaned up. But that's the easy part. What you can't teach is the type of game-breaking speed that forces defenses to account for you every single snap. Now, the Thunder to Blue's Lightning: Phil Mafah. He might not have the lateral wiggle of some of the other backs we discussed in this range — but when Mafah hits people, they feel it. Advertisement At 6'1", 230 pounds, he's a north-and-south punisher with surprising juice despite battling through injury most of last season. His tape at Clemson shows contact balance, tackle-breaking power, and an angry running style that screams Power Football — which perfectly aligns with the Cowboys' transition back toward a more physical ground game. Mafah's frame and skillset closely resemble that of James Conner, a player new offensive line coach Klayton Adams knows extremely well. Tight-hipped? Sure. But he's reliable, physical, and built for bad-weather games and December football. And don't just take it from us — when asked about both backs having a chance to start, Brian Schottenheimer answered bluntly: Advertisement "I would hope so — otherwise we wouldn't have drafted them." Can this mirror was Detroit does with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery? Is it "MartyBall,'' like Schottenheimer's dad had back in the day in Cleveland with Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack? Anything near that will do. The Cowboys didn't just throw darts. They built a backfield with complementary skillsets. Blue's elite speed and space ability. Mafah's bulldozer physicality and short-yardage toughness. It's "Thunder and Lightning" on a rookie contract — and it's exactly what Schottenheimer's new offense needs. Related: Cowboys 'Impact' Trade Moves Hinted At As Dallas Fans Hope Related: Cowboys Reveal Their 'NFL Draft Puzzle' And Most-Valued Trait
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cowboys Poised To Feed Off Each Other In RB Competition
The Dallas Cowboys' running back room is in a vastly different spot than it was 12 months ago. Gone are Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle, in comes Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and draftees Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah. We then add in Deuce Vaughn and fullback Hunter Luepke, too. Advertisement That is quite the room, and with head coach Brian Schottenheimer already stating that he envisions both Blue, who boasts a 4.38 40-yard dash, and Mafah, a brusing power back, as starters, we think a little thunder and lightning or Dine & Dash 2.0 might be in order. And Mafah thinks so too. 'I can complement them really well, especially Jaydon,' Mafah said. 'Us being in the same class and being a great speed guy, me being a power guy, I feel like we can feed off of each other. Also, the other running backs in the room, Javonte, Miles Sanders, just looking up to those guys being able to ask them questions and gain knowledge, I feel like will help us, help our room in the long run.' Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams At AT&T StadiumTony Fisher Running back will be perhaps the most-watched training camp battle in Oxnard as all four in Williams, Sanders, Blue, and Mafah feel they can start behind Dak Prescott in 2025. Advertisement We highly doubt Schottenheimer will carry more than four backs on the active roster, and that means someone will miss out. Blue and his home-run speed loom as a key trait, so too Williams and Sanders' experience in the league, and as for Mafah, his leadership qualities and ability to punish defenders over the course of a game might see him get snaps too. The Cowboys' running back room has a good mix of youth and play styles, and with each offering something different, it is going to make for one serious battle in the Oxnard sun. And it's one where we have no idea who will come out on top, just as a training camp battle should be. Related: Inside Cowboys Coach's Inspirational Speech To Rookies Related: Cowboys Private Disagreement Lands Biggest Steal in NFL Draft
