On this day in sports history
Today I will talk about University of Alabama Tight Ends from 2010-19.
2010-Preston Dial. He was signed in Mike Shula’s last signing class. Redshirted in 2006, in 2007 he played in nine games and caught one pass. In 2008, he started on Special Teams and started against LSU.
In 2009, he became a dominant blocker to help Alabama win its first National Championship since 1992.
In 2010, he started and caught 25 passes for 264 yards. In the game vs Michigan State, he caught four passes for 55 yards. Dial had 30 catches for 318 yards and three touchdowns for the season.
In 2011, Brad Smelley, who was a high school quarterback converted to tight end.
He played on the 2009 and 2011 National Championship Teams and the SEC Champions of 2009.
Smelley had receptions for 356 yards and four touchdowns.
He was drafted by Cleveland Browns in the 7th round and was the 247th pick.
Michael Williams played at Pickens County High School. He played on the 2009, 2011, and 2012 National Championship Teams.
Williams had 51 receptions for 503 yards and seven touchdowns. In the National Championship Game, he had three receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown.
He played for the Detroit Lions (2013-14) and New England Patriots (2015-16) and was a Super Bowl Champion.
OJ Howard played at Autauga Academy and then at Alabama from 2013-16. SEC Champions (2014, 2015 and 2016) 2015 National Champions.
He was the offensive MVP on 2016 National Championship Game. At Alabama, he played in 46 games with 114 receptions for 1726 yards.
He averaged 15.1 yards per catch and had seven touchdowns.
In 2017, he was drafted in the 1st Round and the 19th pick by Tampa Bay.
Irv Smith, Jr. played from 2016-18. SEC Champions (2016, 2018) National Champions (2017).
At Alabama he had 58 receptions for 838 yards, averaging 14.4 yards per catch with 10 touchdowns.
Morris Fosterall is entering the 2020 season as a fifth year senior. He was redshirted because of injury in 2017. So far he has 21 career receptions for 252 yards, averaging 12.0 yards per catch and four touchdowns.
Next week I will cover left tackles.
