Mafah’s season as lead back was, befitting his legacy, an exercise in selflessness.

There were unpredictable levels of pain on any given collision, which he endured. He had to compartmentalize his mother’s condition, which stole her from the stands, because Clemson needed him on the field.

Suzanne knew that. One of Phil’s older sisters, Ines, traveled from Washington to Georgia this past fall to be at her mother’s bedside. She awoke from a surgery, and her first words were “Are you going to be at Phil’s game?”

She didn’t want anyone to worry about her. She just wanted her family to be together. She wanted Phil to carry on.

“I just knew she’d want me to be playing football, wanting me to go hard for my teammates in my last year, finish well,” Mafah said. “So that’s what I did.”

Focus on the field

The stoic senior focused on his mission so well, nobody in Clemson’s football facility would have known the full extent of his burdens.

“The thing about Phil that makes him special,” Spiller said, “is you’ll never know unless you truly ask him.”

Like his mom, Phil is naturally calm. Smiles often, plus the occasional chuckle.

Things happen, which most people would consider “bad,” and Mafah leans on his faith. He believes everything eventually works for the good.

Ask the 239-pound rusher how he injured his shoulder, and Mafah will say, with little emotion, he was just “trying to truck a dude” on App State’s defense.

“My shoulder was just at a perfect angle, and it just popped out and back in,” Mafah said. “I didn’t really think anything of it.”

The next week versus N.C. State, Mafah tried a spin move and a defender clipped his elbow. He felt a tear in the back of his shoulder.

A strong enough sensation, Mafah didn’t get up. He was told to stay down.

“They were going to have to take me to the medical tent,” Mafah said. “They put a little brace on me, and I just finished the game.”