It’s a badly kept secret that Alabama tight end O.J. Howard is well on his way to a high NFL draft selection and likely a productive career.
Howard has to get done beating up on the Clemson Tigers first, though.
Howard broke free against the Tigers in Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship game, reeling in a 68-yard bomb from freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts to put the Crimson Tide up 24-14.
Here is a look at the epic score:
O.J. Howard with another HUGE TD in the National Championship!! @AlabamaFTBL takes the 24-14 lead #SidelineCam https://t.co/FdEjnf634G
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 10, 2017
CBS Sports’ Dane Brugler talked about how Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide set up the strike all night:
Alabama has been setting up that throw all night. Block, block, block for O.J. Howard – then release him down the sideline. Easy score.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 10, 2017
Clemson fans had nasty flashbacks watching that one—Howard torched the Tigers for multiple big scores last year on his way to five catches for a silly 208 yards and two touchdowns after not scoring a touchdown all year.
This year? Howard only had two scores entering Monday.
Alabama doesn’t use tight ends often. It’s why Howard doesn’t have as much NFL draft hype as he should and why Clemson often looks so woefully unprepared to deal with his 6’6″, 251-pound frame and elite speed.
With one quarter left to play, only one question remained—would Howard break free for another big score like he did a year ago?
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