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Big things were expected from O.J. Howard this season, expectations that he hasn’t delivered on. Howard showed promise in his freshman season a year ago, but never broke out in 2014. Could the SEC Championship be his time to make a real impact for the Crimson Tide?
Howard was shut out in the first three games, a development that had everyone wondering what was wrong with Howard. While he came on a bit during the latter stages of the season, Howard’s numbers and impact were still underwhelming. He finished with 13 catches for 224 yards and no scores, less than the 14 catches, 269 yards and 2 touchdowns he had a year ago.
To make matters worse, he had a case of the drops early in the year, only amplifying the zeroes he was putting up on the score sheet. However, seven of his 13 catches came in the final four games of the season, signs that he’s becoming a real part of the Alabama offense.
Related: Meet Alabama’s non-Cooper receivers
He comes up against a stout Missouri defense on Saturday, one that hasn’t allowed many big receiving games all season. They’ve only given up one 100-yard game all season, which Amari Cooper might have something to say about, and the Tigers have limited tight ends as well. Hunter Henry had 4 catches for 48 yards a week ago, while Steven Scheu had 6 catches for 81 yards for Vanderbilt two months ago, but outside of that there’s not a lot of evidence that throwing to the tight end is a good tactic against the Tigers. Missouri’s pass defense numbers are a bit skewed, though, as teams try to run on them more often than not.
Howard could also be needed in pass protection. Missouri has two of the best defensive ends in the country in Shane Ray and Markus Golden, so Howard could be called upon to help chip those two.
However, the Tigers don’t have anyone that can matchup up physically with Howard in coverage. He’s a beast at 6-foot-6 and 240 lbs., with size and speed to take advantage of any matchup. Howard won’t be counted on to do much, as has been the case all season — his season-high for catches is just three. But if he can hit that number, the impact on the game would be huge. Cooper does all the heavy lifting in the passing game; he’ll just need a little help from his teammates.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
