MOBILE, Ala. — It wasn’t a great year in the SEC at the quarterback position, and something similar can be said of the wide receivers.

There were a couple of standout tight ends, though. Two of them, O.J. Howard of Alabama and Evan Engram of Ole Miss, were good enough to earn an invitation to the Senior Bowl, which is Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

That being said, even if Howard and Engram both technically have a “TE” next to their name on the roster for the South team, they couldn’t be more different as prospects. Howard is a traditional tight end in every sense of the term, while Engram is more of a hybrid weapon that tends to excel in spread systems at the collegiate level.

Nevertheless, Howard and Engram could be the first two players at the position to hear their names called in the NFL Draft come April.

At 6-foot-6 and 251 pounds, Howard is the prototypical hand-in-the-dirt tight end. In addition to his pass-catching skills, he’s also an accomplished blocker in the trenches. That came in handy for the run-oriented Crimson Tide.

Engram, on the other hand, was mostly used in the slot and even out wide — rarely did he ever line up in the box next to an offensive tackle — for the Rebels. With 65 catches for 928 yards and 8 touchdowns in 2016, an argument can be made that he was the most effective “receiver” in the entire conference regardless of position.

But listed at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds, Engram’s size is almost identical to the No. 1 wideout available, Clemson’s Mike Williams (6-3, 225).

“He may have been a tight end in college, but in the NFL he’s a receiver,” an anonymous NFL scout told Saturday Down South on Tuesday during the South practice. “I’ve never seen him block anybody. If he can’t block in college, he sure can’t block in the NFL.”

That’s not the case for Howard, who can be an extra offensive lineman at times. Even with ‘Bama morphing into more of a spread-based scheme with freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, Howard was still utilized the same way.

“He’s a beast,” the scout said. “I love watching him play. You almost forget how good of a receiver he is. He’s got it all. The only reason he didn’t have better stats is they didn’t throw it to him enough.”

Howard did indeed tend to disappear at times from the Tide passing attack. That being said, he sure picked his spots to demand the ball. In last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Clemson, he took home MVP honors with 5 catches for 208 yards and 2 TDs. Even in this year’s loss to the Tigers, he went for 4, 106 and 1.

As a matter of fact, those were the only two 100-yard receiving games during Howard’s entire career in Tuscaloosa.

One way or another, both Howard and Engram have a chance to be very successful at the next level. Howard can help just about any club looking for a tight end, although Engram might need a creative offensive mind to get the most out of him.

As far as the league’s receivers are concerned, none of them — LSU’s Travin Dural, Texas A&M’s Josh Reynolds or Mississippi State’s Fred Ross — did much to grab anyone’s attention on Day 1 in Mobile. The same scout went so far as to call it a “slow” year in the SEC. Perhaps the rest of the country is catching up speed-wise.

But Howard and Engram (below) both flashed here and there. Nobody questions their ability to play. They just do it a little differently, that’s all.

Sep 17, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels tight end Evan Engram (17) runs the ball during the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Alabama won 48-43. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

PICK SIX

  • Of the three quarterbacks for the South team, Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs was most effective throwing the football during both 7-on-7 and full-team drills. While Cal’s Davis Webb is more gifted as a pure passer, he was wildly inaccurate at times. The third QB on the roster, Tiffin’s Antonio Pipkin, looked totally overmatched and completely out of his element.
  • With the Cleveland Browns coaching the South team, players got an up-close-and-personal look at infamous defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Once suspended by the NFL for his role in “Bountygate” while with the New Orleans Saints, he was an F-bomb waiting to happen all practice long. Cameras and microphones were everywhere, but Williams still let it fly.
  • As mentioned above, none of the SEC’s receivers made much of an impact on Day 1. Dural let an on-the-money throw from Dobbs bounce right off his hands in 7-on-7 action. Later, Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson broke up a pass from Webb intended for Reynolds, although Reynolds was still in position to make the play and didn’t.
  • Howard made one of the highlight-reel catches of the day, hauling in a long pass down the seam from Webb in 11-on-11 work that would’ve gone for a touchdown. Howard beat two defenders on the play, which led Williams to scream “Are you f—ing kidding me?!” at the top of his lungs. Even if it wasn’t a banner day for Webb, that one was awfully pretty.
  • Fights between players are far from unusual at all-star games, yet usually they don’t happen until Day 2 or 3. But LSU guard Ethan Pocic had already had enough of Tulane defensive tackle Tanzel Smart on Day 1. The two of them got after each other following a snap in 11-on-11. Naturally, there are plenty of talent evaluators who like that kind of stuff from linemen.
  • Auburn defensive tackle Montravius Adams talked to several scouts after practice, including representatives from the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams. Kentucky center Jon Toth spent some time with the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos. Dobbs was being chatted up by the Tennessee Titans before an on-camera interview with Alex Flanagan of NFL Network.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.