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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There will be some campaigning in the film room this week.
No. 1 Alabama began preparations Tuesday for next week’s national championship game against No. 2 Clemson. As the team readies itself to face the Tigers in the College Football Playoff for a fourth straight year, one of the Crimson Tide’s biggest weapons is angling for his shot.
While this will be Irv Smith Jr.’s third game against Clemson, the Alabama tight end has yet to make a mark in the recent rivalry. Smith had just one catch for 6 yards during last year’s 24-6 Sugar Bowl victory over the Tigers. The two years before that he was a spectator as former Alabama tight end O.J. Howard torched Clemson for 314 yards and three touchdowns on nine catches in back-to-back national championship games.
This time, Smith hopes it’s his turn to put on a show.
“He balled out,” Smith said when asked about Howard’s two games against Clemson. “He made a bunch of plays in those games, so it’s motivating for me as well because I want to obviously go out and have a big game. It was awesome seeing him do that.”
After replacing Howard as Alabama’s H-back last season, Smith has stepped into a bigger role in the offense. Like his predecessor, the 6-foot-4, 241-pound junior is a pass-catching threat. Through 14 games, he’s tallied 40 receptions for 667 yards and seven touchdowns and was a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award given to the nation’s top tight end.
But does that mean Smith will cause the same coverage nightmares for Clemson that Howard did in recent years? It’s worth noting that the Tigers have had their struggles against tight ends in recent years.
