Under-utilized at Alabama, TE O.J. Howard a potential NFL star

MOBILE, Ala. — Tight end O.J. Howard was overshadowed and underutilized at Alabama, but he’s already a star during Senior Bowl week.

He’s recognized almost universally as the best player here and is living up to the hype by making one-handed catches and showing NFL-level prowess as a blocker. Everybody’s watching to see what he’ll do next.

This already is kind of a new realm for Howard. Though he played at the most high-profile program in the country, he was mostly an afterthought as a playmaker. It was as if he had a “break glass in case of emergency” label on him.

He averaged 34.5 receiving yards in 50 games at Alabama (114 receptions for 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns in four seasons) but came up huge in two national championship games against Clemson: five receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-40 victory in 2016 and four receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown in a 35-31 loss on Jan. 9.

So he averaged 152 receiving yards in two championship games and 29.5 in all others at Alabama. What’s the deal with that?

“It’s just the way it was,” Howard said. “I wish I could have gotten the ball a lot more to make plays. That’s why I’m here now. At the next level, I think I’ll have the opportunities to make plays. The tight ends get used a lot more in the NFL. I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be here.”

Howard, who’s 6-5∑, 249 pounds, with an 80-inch wingspan, is the top-ranked prospect in what is considered a strong tight-end class. Ole Miss’ Evan Engram (6-3, 236) and Arkansas’ Jeremy Sprinkle (6-5, 256) also have stood out this week. South Alabama’s Gerald Everett (6-3, 227) and Toledo’s Michael Roberts (6-4, 261) also are top-rated prospects. And Florida International’s Jonnu Smith (6-3, 245) looks like an intriguing sleeper.

A strong tight-end class is good news for the Bears, who passed on a weak class last year despite the need and suffered without a proven NFL pass-catching tight end after Zach Miller broke his right foot in Week 11 against the Giants. While Miller is expected to return at full strength in 2017, the Bears are almost certain to draft a tight end.

Howard would be a dream scenario for the Bears, who with the No. 3 and No. 36 overall picks likely would have to trade up or down for the mid- to late-first-round pick it would take to get him. He’s the latest candidate to be part of the next-generation class of NFL tight ends. Howard grew up as a blocker in Alabama’s run-first offense but obviously has the speed and skill to be a downfield, big-play pass-catching threat. He mentioned Jason Witten, Jimmy Graham and Jordan Reed as NFL tight ends he emulates.

Howard seems to have everything teams are looking for in the player and the person. He’s soft-spoken but confident. He doesn’t seem to be a look-at-me type of player or person. Instead of parlaying the tremendous championship-game performance against Clemson into NFL money last year, he returned to school and graduated. From the outside, he looks like he was raised right.

“I’m a very presentable guy,” he said. “I’ve got character. I treat everybody the way I want to be treated. As far as football goes, I’m a guy that can make plays in the running game and the passing game. If I can establish those three things here, it’ll be a successful trip for me.”

Follow me on Twitter @MarkPotash.

Email: mpotash@suntimes.com