O. J. Howard

O'Terrius Jabari "O. J." Howard (born November 19, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Howard attended Autauga Academy in Prattville, Alabama. He was rated by Rivals.com and Scout.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked by both as the best tight end in his class. He committed to the University of Alabama to play college football.

As a true freshman at Alabama in 2013, Howard played in 13 games with five starts. He finished the year with 14 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2014, he had 17 receptions for 260 yards. As a junior in 2015, Howard had 38 receptions for 602 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the Offensive MVP of Alabama's victory over Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship after recording five receptions for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

Howard was considered by some to be underutilized in the Crimson Tide offense despite back to back seasons recording the most receptions ever for a tight end under Saban at Alabama. When asked about Howard's role in the offense after the 2016 season, Saban said, "O.J., quite honestly, should have been more involved all year long."

Howard played for the South team in the 2017 Senior Bowl. He has stated that he tries model his play off Jason Witten, Jimmy Graham, and Jordan Reed.

Howard was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round (19th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was only the second Alabama tight end selected in the first round in the common draft era, after Ozzie Newsome in 1978.