Howard hauls in 8 catches against Texas A&M
It all started with the very first play.
University of Alabama tight end O.J. Howard caught a 6-yard shot up the middle from quarterback Jalen Hurts to open up Saturday’s game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Howard had to wait until the next drive to get his hands back on the ball, but once he did, it was one after another. Howard finished with a career-high eight receptions for 69 yards and a score.
“It felt great,” the senior said. “Just to get your momentum going, get your confidence up – I think it’s always good to get the first play of the game.”
Just four plays after his second reception, Howard scored his sole touchdown. It came during the second quarter of No. 1 Alabama's 33-14 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M.
Hurts rolled out in the backfield and threw a 5-yard pass to Howard and the 6-foot-6, 251-pound offensive beast plowed through Texas A&M defensive back Donovan Wilson, who was later booted from the game for targeting, to score.
After the play, however, Howard wasn’t celebrating. He had the wind knocked out of him and was slow to return to his feet as trainers surrounded him.
“I just stayed down for a little bit because I couldn’t really breathe, but I’m good to go,” Howard said. “It’s part of football.”
Howard caught seven passes for 59 yards in the first half alone. He grabbed just one more pass for rest of the game, but it was at an integral moment.
Although the Crimson Tide went into halftime with a 13-7 lead, the Aggies scored on their second-half opening drive to edge ahead by a point. Texas A&M then sacked Hurts for a loss of 5 yards immediately after.
“We just look to each other and say we know what we've got to do,” Howard said.
The following play fell short of a first down because of the prior loss, but Howard caught an 11-yard pass to set Hurts up for an easy rush to move the chains. Soon after, Alabama scored to regain the lead it would never relinquish.
Saturday marked Howard’s best performance since Alabama defeated Clemson in last season’s national championship, where he totaled a game-high 208 receiving yards. Along with a long 63-yard reception, Howard pulled in 53-yard and 51-yard touchdown passes.
Following his Most Valuable Player performance in the title game, Howard had the option to apply for early entry into the 2016 NFL Draft. Instead, the Prattville native returned for his senior season.
"It shows maturity that he doesn’t mind waiting and he’s here for the team,” offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman said.
Before this weekend, Howard had caught 14 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown through seven games. He averaged 29.9 yards per game.
Even with his standout performance against A&M, Howard will remain on the Alabama roster in receptions. The specifics, though, don’t matter.
“These are the games you live for,” Howard said. “Top 10 opponent, our home stadium — I love it. I came back to school to play these types of games.”