The Associated PressComparisons to O.J. Howard were going to be inevitable this year for Alabama sophomore tight end Miller Forristall.
Perhaps they will run their course quickly.
Forristall is the top candidate to take over the starting role formerly occupied by Howard, a five-star talent who soon will get snatched up in the first round of the NFL draft. Howard set an NFL combine record in February by running the 40-yard dash (4.51 seconds) faster than anybody with a 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame or larger.
"I'm not quite O.J., and I don't want to be," Forristall said earlier this week in a news conference. "I just want to do my job and be Miller Forristall. O.J. is a great player and a great guy, and I respect him a lot."
The Crimson Tide held their eighth spring workout Friday and will scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium today.
Forristall was among Alabama's eight early enrollees last year, a crop headed by quarterback Jalen Hurts and right tackle Jonah Williams, and quickly earned playing time. He actually started the season-opening win over Southern California and again in the Southeastern Conference championship game against Florida.
Though he caught only five passes for 73 yards, Forristall produced one of the biggest plays in Alabama's 12-0 regular season. With the Tide facing second-and-15 from their 5-yard line late in the third quarter of a 0-0 game at LSU, Forristall had a 22-yard reception from Hurts that ignited the only touchdown drive of the night in Alabama's eventual 10-0 win.
"Miller Forristall played a lot last year for us, and he's gotten bigger and stronger," Tide coach Nick Saban said this week. "He's a little O.J.-like in terms of being a very good receiver. O.J. became a very good blocker in the early stages of his career, and that's one of the things Miller needs to improve on.
"He is making progress in that area."
Forristall was very busy during the 2015 season as a Cartersville (Ga.) High School senior, amassing 57 catches for 902 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was rated a four-star recruit by Scout.com and a three-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com.
After playing last season at 225 pounds, the 6-5 Forristall is now listed at 238, which should make him more competitive from a blocking standpoint. Going up against senior defensive end and former five-star signee Da'Shawn Hand in practice should help in that aspect, too.
"That's part of the position," Forristall said. "You play tight end at Alabama knowing you're going to get your hands dirty."
Alabama's offense is now under the guidance of Brian Daboll, who spent the past three seasons as tight ends coach of the New England Patriots. Forristall said he has studied a lot of video of Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski and hopes Daboll can share some Gronk stories down the road.
Having a new coordinator with a background at his position is an obvious cause for excitement for Forristall in the weeks and months ahead.
"When he was with the Patriots, their tight ends obviously had a lot of opportunities," Forristall said. "Hopefully we can get some opportunities here. We have watched all their film. It's pretty cool."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6524.