Howard looks to build on his strong finish to last season

Maybe it was a case of O.J. Howard doing media like he did Clemson’s secondary in the national championship game.

Keeping it elusive. Staying wide-open.

But Howard swears he never heard what his head coach the next day. Saban told national media that Alabama should have gotten Howard the ball like that long before the final games of Howard’s third season in crimson.

Howard? Well, it was the morning after Alabama won another national championship.

“I didn’t really pay any attention to it,” Howard said Wednesday. “I was still in a moment, honestly.

“I was in shock. When the press came, I didn’t really hear anything people were shouting. I was in a moment. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, so not really.”

Wednesday marked Howard’s first meeting with media since he torched Clemson for five catches, 208 yards and two touchdowns in Arizona on Jan. 11. His breakout performance ranked highly among keys in Alabama’s 45-40 victory and left Crimson Tide and Clemson watchers asking the same question.

Where’s that been all of Howard’s career?

Going into that game, Howard had 33 catches for 394 yards and no touchdowns last season. The senior-to-be has 69 catches for 1,131 yards and four touchdowns for his career.

Alabama fans imagined those career numbers to be single-season numbers when Howard came to Alabama as the top tight end prospect of 2013. Coming out of Prattville’s Autauga Academy, he was the No. 7 prospect overall in the Rivals100.

Howard even enrolled early as a freshman, so expectations were high. Expectations don’t always translate to targets in an offensive scheme.

Former Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier got the ball to Howard 14 times in 2013. Lane Kiffin, known for getting playmakers the ball, got Howard the ball 55 times in two seasons.

Maybe that’s why Clemson left him so wide open in Arizona. At times, he literally could stand like a saguaro in the desert as the guys in orange lost him.

“I don’t know (what happened) on the defensive side of the ball,” Howard said. “I honestly don’t know.”

His performance backed up a three-catch, 59-yard showing against Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Even Alabama coach Nick Saban wondered why his offense hadn’t used Howard like that for three years. Saban raised eyebrows when he commented on it in the day-after news conference in Arizona.

“O.J., quite honestly, should have been more involved all year long,” Saban said. “Sometimes, he was open, and we didn’t get him the ball, but I think the last two games have been breakout games for him in terms of what he’s capable of and what he can do.

“I would say it’s bad coaching on my part that he didn’t have the opportunity to do that all year long, because he is really a good athlete, and he’s improved tremendously as a player this year.”

Well, of course that quote was meant to recruit Howard back for his senior season at Alabama, and it worked. On Jan. 18, a week after the Clemson game, Howard announced via Twitter that he would put off the NFL Draft.

And of course, Howard heard Saban’s quote. They were sitting together at the head table, and Howard responded to a question about it.

“You know, it makes me think about coming back and making plays next season for coach,” Howard said. “It’ll get me more involved in the offense.”

Wednesday, Howard seemed glad to play the decoy. He said he stayed in his moment “probably the rest of that month,” until the offseason conditioning program started.

His performance in Arizona didn’t hurt his confidence.

“I’m a confident person, but definitely, that helped a lot,” he said. “With this being my last year, it definitely helped me to work hard and give it all I’ve got and be very confident every time I step on the field.”

He looks forward to Saban keeping his promise to get Howard the ball more in 2016.

“Definitely,” Howard said. “Whenever I have the opportunity to help the team to win games, it’s a good feeling, so I’m excited about it.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Howard looks to build on his strong finish to last season."