Auburn football: Caden Story de-commits, plans potential Clemson visit

After insisting for months that he had no plan to stray from his commitment to Auburn football, 4-star in-state defensive lineman Caden Story has officially re-opened his recruitment. The Lanett, AL, native originally committed to the Tigers back in August, but chose not to sign on early signing day in December.

Story’s announcement comes on the heels of the news that former Auburn defensive line coach Nick Eason would be making the move to his alma mater, Clemson. The DL wrote that he would be de-committing due to “recent changes and careful consideration” so it’s possible Eason’s departure played a role.

According to The Clemson Insider, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers have been recruiting Story hard since Eason joined their staff, and although Story gave no indication to the publication that he would be backing off his Auburn football commitment he did speak very highly of Eason and noted that the coach played a big role in his recruitment to Auburn.

Though Story says in his announcement that Auburn is still one of his top schools, the defensive lineman is definitely considering all options. He will take an official visit to Florida on January 28, right before National Signing Day, where Billy Napier’s new staff is recruiting him hard.

Multiple sources, including The Clemson Insider, indicate that a visit to Clemson is in the works for the defensive lineman, which is not a huge surprise considering Coach Eason’s involvement in his recruitment:

"“He’s just been recruiting me hard, just like he was at Auburn,” Story told The Clemson Insider in a phone interview Sunday.“Coach Eason, that’s my guy,” Story said. “He’s a real dude. We have a really close relationship. I feel like he’s one of the best in the country. I feel like he is the best in the country. Me and Coach Eason, we’re tight. We’re close. That’s my dude. That’s my guy.”"

With only a few weeks to go before National Signing Day, Story’s commitment is truly up in the air, but it looks like Clemson may be able to pull off a steal from Auburn football.