Alabama fans the world over were elated when they heard National Championship Game hero O.J. Howard was returning for his senior season in 2016.

Now, the question becomes how Alabama will make use of him.

Because let’s face facts: The history books will remember Howard’s 208-yard, 2-TD performance that saved the national championship against Clemson, the reality is that performance salvaged a season in which Howard was mostly anonymous. Coming into the title game, Howard’s previous highs for the season were against Ole Miss (4 catches, 70 yards) and Tennessee (7-55). The two touchdowns against Clemson were the only two he scored all season.

Strangely, the 38 catches for 602 yards he accrued in 2015 represent the best season of his career — though he burst onto the scene with a 52-yard catch-and-run against LSU as a freshman in 2013, Howard only had 31 catches for 529 yards and 2 TDs coming into 2015. In fact he didn’t catch one TD pass in all of 2014.

It is no small wonder, then, that head coach Nick Saban groused at the end of the Clemson game that Bama should have used Howard more during the season.

“O.J., quite honestly, should have been more involved all year long. 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,” Saban said.

“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.”

Howard admitted that Saban’s comments helped convince him to give things another run in 2016, saying, “It’ll get me more involved in the offense.”

Whether that’s true remains to be seen. Alabama will be breaking in a new quarterback for the third straight season this fall, and the football still needs to be shared around the perimeter with talented receivers Calvin Ridley and Ardarius Stewart.

The guess here is that Saban directs offensive whiz Lane Kiffin to spend the offseason designing some new ways to make Howard an impactful receiver this fall. It’s one of the reasons to stay tuned for Alabama’s 2016 run.