Alabama Crimson Tide

O.J. Howard motivated by last season's Ole Miss ending

Published Sep. 17, 2015 4:44 p.m. ET

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The 23-17 upset Alabama suffered at the hands of Ole Miss still lingers on the mind of their tight end O.J. Howard. Had a play or two gone differently down the stretch, Alabama could have escaped with a victory.

"I can't let that [dictate] how I'm going to play this year because that was last year, so I had to move on from it," Howard said to AL.com.

In case you've forgotten, Howard had a crucial holding call on a Blake Sims scramble that would have give Alabama a first down. The following play Sims was intercepted looking for Howard in the end zone to end the Tide's chances. 

"It's something that I've kind of grown to forget about," Howard said. "But at first, it was something that I had a hard time letting go, but I don't really worry about it much. I'm a much improved player since that play, so it's nothing that really affects me anymore."

Considering Alabama's offense has changed so drastically going into this game, Howard is unlikely to see himself attempting to play the hero once again for the Tide, but he will be crucial in other aspects of Alabama's offensive gameplan Saturday. 

"O.J. has done a really good job," coach Nick Saban said. "I think it's important for us to continue that because he is a little bit of a mismatch player most of the time. He's a very good athlete, a very good receiver, and he has improved his blocking, and I think that's helped as well."

While Howard's role might have changed, if the outcome is different this season, the tight end will have finally gotten his redemption.

(h/t AL.com)

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