The good news has been far and in between for Auburn football throughout the 2022 recruiting cycle. The Tigers currently hold five commitments in the 2022 class and rank as the #77 overall class in the country, which is dead last (#14) in the SEC rankings right now.
Positive news could come on August 1st, in which the Tigers could land their top defensive line prospect, one who would be their highest rated recruit thus far under Harsin.
Caden Story is a 4-star defensive lineman out of Lanett, AL and ranks as the #223 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class and is the #32 overall defensive lineman in this class. Story has been a standout at Lanett High School for two seasons, in which he has racked up over 134 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.
Story visited the Plains twice in June and was open about Auburn football being a real factor in his recruitment. Story does plan to officially visit the Plains this fall, but his commitment date is set for August 1st and Story released his Top-2 schools and it will be a Gus Malzahn v. Bryan Harsin battle for the talented in-state prospect.
Where We Going? Find Out August 1st #LLQ 💚 pic.twitter.com/rr6JeceuSF
— ᶜˢ⁵ 💰 (@CadenStory) July 16, 2021
Story holds two Crystal Ball Predictions from 247Sports, which is promising for the Tigers and Story spoke highly of Bryan Harsin and the new Auburn football staff on his visit to the Plains last month.
"“Auburn is definitely a real factor. One of the top schools. I like the coaching staff and the plan Coach (Bryan) Harsin has. He really has a great plan.”“It’s a great staff. You can tell it’s like a family bond. They have a great relationship with each other, every last one of them. And you can tell each and every one of them is building a relationship with their players.”"
The Tigers look to be the leader for Story right now, but we all know things can change daily in recruiting and anything is possible. Landing Story would bring Auburn up to the Top-65 in the recruiting rankings, but the Tigers still have a long way to go to make up ground in the SEC.
This would be a huge win for Harsin and would immediately bring some positive momentum back to the Plains on the recruiting front. It would also be a gigantic statement to land a recruit of this caliber over Malzahn and would absolutely increase the confidence the fans have in his ability to recruitment in the south.