Q&A: Former Gopher Boye Mafe preparing for NFL Draft

Golden Valley native and former Gophers defensive end Boye Mafe is working hard in Thousand Oaks, California, getting ready for the Draft Combine March 1-7.

He dominated at the Senior Bowl earlier this month, notching two sacks, a forced fumble, three tackles for a loss and was named the Senior Bowl National Player of the Game.

We recently caught up with Mafe to recap his dominating performance in Mobile, and to hear all about what his pre-draft process entails.

***Click the video box above to watch our conversation with Mafe***

A former star at Hopkins high school, Mafe redshirted for the Gophers in 2017 and was a part-time player in 2018.

2019, a special year for the Gophers, saw Mafe earn 3 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. In 2020, Mafe accumulated 27 tackles, five-and-a-half tackles for loss, four-and-a-half sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. For his senior year in 2021, he got even better. He had 34 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and a forced fumble in 13 games. He was named All-Big Ten.

A good bet to impress teams at the Combine, Mafe could slide into the first round. He’d make back-to-back Gophers going in the 1st after the Ravens selected WR Rashod Bateman No. 27 overall last year.