Tafon Mainsah is in his third year as an assistant coach in charge of Furman’s cornerbacks.
Mainsah joined the Paladin program in the spring of 2023 and in his first season played a pivotal role in Furman’s 10-3 campaign that netted a Southern Conference championship and appearance in the FCS playoff quarterfinals.
Fueling Furman’s drive to the league title in his first campaign in Greenville was an outstanding Paladin defense that surrendered just 18.2 points per game (FCS/11th) and registered 18 interceptions (FCS/3rd) and 27 turnovers gained (FCS/3rd). The names behind the numbers included All-American cornerback Travis Blackshear and Michael Robinson, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.
Mainsah joined Davidson in 2019 as a volunteer assistant coach and was promoted to full-time in 2020 while overseeing the program’s cornerbacks.
During his tenure at Davidson he played a role in the Wildcats earning a pair of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff berths, including the 2021 campaign that netted a Pioneer Football League (PFL) regular season championship. In 2022 the Wildcats captured the PFL’s automatic bid to the playoffs and finished the season with an 8-4 record.
Mainsah fashioned an outstanding collegiate playing career at Richmond and competed professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
While at Richmond he played defensive back and served as a team captain, helping UR to FCS playoff appearances in 2014, ‘15, and ‘16. The 2015 Spiders’ squad reached the national semifinals and finished ranked fourth in the STATS Perform final poll.
All told he saw action in 40 games and totaled 108 tackles, six interceptions, and 32 pass breakups at Richmond.
Following graduation from UR, he participated in NFL camps with the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens, before landing with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL. While in Ottawa, he helped the squad reach the Grey Cup in 2018.
A native of Wichita, Kan., Mainsah grew up playing soccer and basketball before moving to Charlotte, N.C., his junior year of high school, where he picked up football. He started for two years at Charlotte Catholic, earning All-Mega 7 Conference Team and All-Mecklenburg County second team honors in 2012. He was also named Charlotte Catholic’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2013.
