Following O.J. Howard’s incredible College Football Playoff championship game, his stock had never been higher.

Howard caught five passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson, and he finally flashed that massive potential everyone had been buzzing about since he set foot on campus.

It would have been very easy for Howard to make the decision to head to the NFL Draft, and nobody would have faulted him for it.

But Howard took the road less traveled and actually returned for his senior year.

Why?

“It was kind of a decision where I thought I had so much left on the table in college,” Howard said Monday, via SECCountry.com. “How I can mature on and off the field. It really wasn’t a hard decision at the end of the day. (My family and I) thought about it a lot.”

Although talented coming out of high school, Howard struggled to become a big part of the offense. However, Lane Kiffin, I’m sure, will attempt to change that in 2016.

Howard noted route running and blocking improvement as two areas he could get better in 2016.

To quote the famous words of Santana Moss, “Big-time players step up in big games.” That’s exactly what Howard did on college football’s biggest stage.