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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Under The Helmet: Boye Mafe
12/17/2020 9:57:00 AM | Football
Gophers defensive lineman talks about his favorite sack, sushi and The Rock
Growing up as a Golden Valley, Minn. native, redshirt junior defensive lineman Boye Mafe was always familiar with the Gopher Football program. That familiarity has grown drastically since Mafe joined the Gophers in 2017, as the Hopkins High School grad has accumulated 46 career tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles through his first 28 games played.
Thus far, 2020 has been a revelation for Mafe as a pass rusher. Heading into the year, Mafe owned four career tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Already this season, he has more than doubled his collegiate sack total by adding 4.5 more sacks in just five games this year.
GopherSports goes inside the helmet with Mafe as he prepares for his final game of the 2020 season.
GpherSports: As a Minnesota native, did you always want to come to Minnesota?
BM: Growing up, I always cheered for the Gophers. I always knew about the Gophers. Growing up in Minnesota, it was your dream school. If they ever come to your school and do community service or any type of work like that, it's always interesting and always exciting. I actually never got to go a Gopher game until I got recruited, so that was my first experience, and ever since then, I just loved it.
GS: What adjustments have allowed you to get to the quarterback more this season?
BM: This year, I've just focused on the bigger picture of football. It's focusing more on, not just knowing and doing a certain move and focusing just on the moves, but focusing on our meetings and using my eyes. Using different parts of knowing the game and learning how to read tackle sets, tackle movements and tackle tendencies. That's upped my level tremendously and it's made the game slow down for me.
GS: What's the most memorable sack of your entire career?
BM: Most memorable for me would definitely be the Outback Bowl. I've had some high school ones, senior year homecoming, but my most memorable would be my Outback Bowl sack. It was the last time I was going to get to play with Carter Coughlin and Tai'yon Devers and a lot of those seniors on the field. The feeling after getting the sack and seeing those guys run up to me, it's one of those moments you'll never forget because I knew this was one of our last games together. It just meant so much more to me.
GS: How do your sack celebrations stack up against your teammates'?
BM: I think I'm terrible, I'm not going to lie. I think I need to work on that. I don't really know how to celebrate at times, but other times I kind of get lost in the moment. Maybe if I get some suggestions, if some fans out there want to give me suggestions, I'll be open to any. I don't think I'm really good at those right now. Deangelo Carter's celebrations, they show a little bit of him and a little bit of his character.
GS: Who would play you in a Hollywood film and why?
BM: I'd have to say The Rock. Or Denzel Washington, but I'm not that old. Denzel Washington, I feel like when he's on the screen he just brings a presence that's seriousness and I love watching his movies. And The Rock has that energy and that grit about him.
GS: Tell us about your high school track & field experience.
BM: I fell in love with track. My Spanish teacher, his name was Mr. Lovas, Coach Lovas to me, he honestly introduced me to track. It wasn't something I started out doing. Freshman year, he told me to come out, and after that I just ran with it. It was always fun to be out there and competing and the camaraderie of the team. I did a little bit of everything: hurdles, shot put, triple jump, long jump, high jump, 100-meter, 200-meter, 300-meter hurdles and one time I also did the 400-meter.
GS: Where is somewhere you like to go in Minnesota that not a lot of people know about?
BM: For me, I actually like to go back home a lot. Being in my hometown, I love it. There's a couple spots I like to go hang out at. Metropolitan and Good Day Café – a place I like to get breakfast at, it's really good. The biggest thing about Minnesota that I've seen from having out-of-state teammates come here and spending time with me in the off-season would be the lakes. Getting out to the lakes, I don't care how big or small the lake is, but when you get out to the lake in the summertime and you just sit there, even just watching the water and sitting on the shore, fishing, doing whatever you want to do, it's amazing.
GS: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
BM: Oh, sushi. Sushi, of course. So quick. Crab crunch roll, spicy tuna – those are probably the top two. Those are so good.
GS: If you could steal any trait from a teammate, what would you take?
BM: I'd take Rashod Bateman's speed, just to help me out a little bit. Even Terell Smith's speed, he's a guy with crazy speed. That would help me out tremendously.
GS: What is your favorite Coach Fleck/Red Savoy Pizza commercial?
BM: The one with Coach Fleck chasing the car because every time I think of that, I think of our end-of-quarter jog down the field and how he tries to sprint. You see him doing the whole chin-to-pocket, you know that's something we talk about here in your running form. It's fun to see him do that.
GS: Who is the most underrated player on the Gopher defense?
BM: Justus Harris. I think Justus Harris is one of those players who brings another level to the defense. He brings a standard to the defense and he brings an energy level that is undeniable. Justus brings everything you need in a player. He works hard every day, he brings a standard, he never quits and he's one of those players you can always count on to know the assignment and do an assignment.
GS: What's on your pre-game playlist?
BM: To hype me up, some artists I listen to would be Lil Baby, some Waka Flocka, a lot of old Waka Flocka. I'd say also some old Kanye. One of those older albums, those really get me going.
GS: How can you continue to grow as a pass rusher moving forward?
BM: As a pass rusher, you never know everything. There's not a point where you can't stop growing. Personally, I think there's always going to be something I can improve on. From a fundamentals standpoint, from a mental standpoint, from a tendency learning standpoint, there's a lot of things you can learn. The biggest thing that I can take away right now is working on footwork, working on learning tendencies, reading offensive linemen better, learning their tendencies. You can never have the perfect footwork and you can never get to a point of being satisfied.
Thus far, 2020 has been a revelation for Mafe as a pass rusher. Heading into the year, Mafe owned four career tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Already this season, he has more than doubled his collegiate sack total by adding 4.5 more sacks in just five games this year.
GopherSports goes inside the helmet with Mafe as he prepares for his final game of the 2020 season.
GpherSports: As a Minnesota native, did you always want to come to Minnesota?
BM: Growing up, I always cheered for the Gophers. I always knew about the Gophers. Growing up in Minnesota, it was your dream school. If they ever come to your school and do community service or any type of work like that, it's always interesting and always exciting. I actually never got to go a Gopher game until I got recruited, so that was my first experience, and ever since then, I just loved it.
GS: What adjustments have allowed you to get to the quarterback more this season?
BM: This year, I've just focused on the bigger picture of football. It's focusing more on, not just knowing and doing a certain move and focusing just on the moves, but focusing on our meetings and using my eyes. Using different parts of knowing the game and learning how to read tackle sets, tackle movements and tackle tendencies. That's upped my level tremendously and it's made the game slow down for me.
GS: What's the most memorable sack of your entire career?
BM: Most memorable for me would definitely be the Outback Bowl. I've had some high school ones, senior year homecoming, but my most memorable would be my Outback Bowl sack. It was the last time I was going to get to play with Carter Coughlin and Tai'yon Devers and a lot of those seniors on the field. The feeling after getting the sack and seeing those guys run up to me, it's one of those moments you'll never forget because I knew this was one of our last games together. It just meant so much more to me.
GS: How do your sack celebrations stack up against your teammates'?
BM: I think I'm terrible, I'm not going to lie. I think I need to work on that. I don't really know how to celebrate at times, but other times I kind of get lost in the moment. Maybe if I get some suggestions, if some fans out there want to give me suggestions, I'll be open to any. I don't think I'm really good at those right now. Deangelo Carter's celebrations, they show a little bit of him and a little bit of his character.
GS: Who would play you in a Hollywood film and why?
BM: I'd have to say The Rock. Or Denzel Washington, but I'm not that old. Denzel Washington, I feel like when he's on the screen he just brings a presence that's seriousness and I love watching his movies. And The Rock has that energy and that grit about him.
GS: Tell us about your high school track & field experience.
BM: I fell in love with track. My Spanish teacher, his name was Mr. Lovas, Coach Lovas to me, he honestly introduced me to track. It wasn't something I started out doing. Freshman year, he told me to come out, and after that I just ran with it. It was always fun to be out there and competing and the camaraderie of the team. I did a little bit of everything: hurdles, shot put, triple jump, long jump, high jump, 100-meter, 200-meter, 300-meter hurdles and one time I also did the 400-meter.
GS: Where is somewhere you like to go in Minnesota that not a lot of people know about?
BM: For me, I actually like to go back home a lot. Being in my hometown, I love it. There's a couple spots I like to go hang out at. Metropolitan and Good Day Café – a place I like to get breakfast at, it's really good. The biggest thing about Minnesota that I've seen from having out-of-state teammates come here and spending time with me in the off-season would be the lakes. Getting out to the lakes, I don't care how big or small the lake is, but when you get out to the lake in the summertime and you just sit there, even just watching the water and sitting on the shore, fishing, doing whatever you want to do, it's amazing.
GS: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
BM: Oh, sushi. Sushi, of course. So quick. Crab crunch roll, spicy tuna – those are probably the top two. Those are so good.
GS: If you could steal any trait from a teammate, what would you take?
BM: I'd take Rashod Bateman's speed, just to help me out a little bit. Even Terell Smith's speed, he's a guy with crazy speed. That would help me out tremendously.
GS: What is your favorite Coach Fleck/Red Savoy Pizza commercial?
BM: The one with Coach Fleck chasing the car because every time I think of that, I think of our end-of-quarter jog down the field and how he tries to sprint. You see him doing the whole chin-to-pocket, you know that's something we talk about here in your running form. It's fun to see him do that.
GS: Who is the most underrated player on the Gopher defense?
BM: Justus Harris. I think Justus Harris is one of those players who brings another level to the defense. He brings a standard to the defense and he brings an energy level that is undeniable. Justus brings everything you need in a player. He works hard every day, he brings a standard, he never quits and he's one of those players you can always count on to know the assignment and do an assignment.
GS: What's on your pre-game playlist?
BM: To hype me up, some artists I listen to would be Lil Baby, some Waka Flocka, a lot of old Waka Flocka. I'd say also some old Kanye. One of those older albums, those really get me going.
GS: How can you continue to grow as a pass rusher moving forward?
BM: As a pass rusher, you never know everything. There's not a point where you can't stop growing. Personally, I think there's always going to be something I can improve on. From a fundamentals standpoint, from a mental standpoint, from a tendency learning standpoint, there's a lot of things you can learn. The biggest thing that I can take away right now is working on footwork, working on learning tendencies, reading offensive linemen better, learning their tendencies. You can never have the perfect footwork and you can never get to a point of being satisfied.
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Beat Spartans
Wednesday, November 05
Coach Fleck Postgame Interview
Sunday, November 02
Highlights: Gophers 23, Michigan State 20
Saturday, November 01
Sights & Sounds: Gophers-Spartans
Saturday, November 01