4-star 2027 tight end just locked in his official visit with Kalen DeBoer and the Tide

Kalen DeBoer was forced to shuffle the deck a bit this offseason after Nick Sheridan left to become the offensive coordinator at Michigan State. After serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in 2024, Sheridan was the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2025, Ryan Grubb’s first year back with Kalen DeBoer. 

With Sheridan gone, DeBoer moved last year’s tight ends coach, Bryan Ellis, to the QB room, and took until mid-February to fill the tight end coach vacancy with former Louisville offensive line coach Richard Owens. 

The Owens addition signalled a growing emphasis on the run game, and that has continued in recruiting with the staff’s pursuit of 2027 four-star tight end Malik Howard. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Oak Ridger, Tennessee product is one of the top tight ends in the country and has locked in his official visit with the Tide for May 29-31. 

Alabama’s pursuit of 4-star TE Malik Howard continues with late May OV

Howard is not a massive player, but with his 6-foot-10 wingspan, he’s a willing blocker who routinely plays in-line and as an H-back for Oak Ridge High School. The 193rd-ranked player in the class according to 247Sports Composite, Howard is the No. 11 tight end in the class. 

Along with Alabama, Miami, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt are in the mix for Howard’s commitment. 

In the 2026 class, which finished ranked inside the top 5 nationally, Alabama added four-star tight end Mack Sutter, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound oversized receiver who is a dynamic athlete who should be a red zone threat, but doesn’t profile as much of a blocker. You can say the same about 2027 tight end commit Colt Lumpris, who at 6-foot-6, 225-pounds, is primarily deployed out of the slot at the high school level. 

Howard is more of a complete tight end than those players, and likely fits more into Owens’ style with his background as a former offensive line coach. Owens’ arrival should also play a role in the development of 2025 four-star Kaleb Edwards, who saw meaningful snaps last season as Josh Cuevas’s understudy. 

While Sutter and Lumpris will both need to add weight at the college level to play in line, Edwards should be equipped for it in his sophomore season, and Howard, if he does join the Tide, could provide more versatility to two-tight-end sets, complementing the downfield pass-catching abilities of Sutter and Lumpris.