Auburn football: This is the most heartbreaking development of NSD

Caden Story is a Tiger, but he isn’t going to be a part of the Auburn football program as many once expected.

Instead, he’ll be with Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in northwest South Carolina, not on the Plains in East Central Alabama.

Out of all the disappointment for Auburn football on National Signing Day, Caden Story committing to Clemson is the most heartbreaking development.

This is brutal on so many levels.

The primary recruiter for Story was Nick Eason, who of course left Auburn to join Swinney’s staff at Clemson. That he was the key to the team’s recruitment originally, and then ultimately AU’s unraveling, makes one’s stomach turn like a washing machine.

Eason essentially recruited Story for Clemson, possibly while plotting his exit from the Plains following a 6-7 season. Things behind the scenes for the gridiron Tigers always seem to have a hint of drama in some form, and Eason was the first domino to fall in an offseason where Auburn’s OC (months after the last one was fired) and DC both left their posts.

Story was the No. 27 2022 defensive lineman No. 10 overall prospect coming out of Alabama, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

This tweet just about sums up Tiger fans’ suffering:

Overall, signing no recruits and losing one of the top receivers (Ja’Varrius Johnson) to the transfer portal stung, but seeing Caden Story officially choose Clemson is the cherry on top.

Good thing it’s basketball season and Bruce Pearl has the Tigers at #1 in the country, otherwise it’d be a tough time to be apart of the Auburn family with Georgia as the reigning National Champions, Alabama as the reigning SEC Champions, and Auburn football looking very far from being in the conversation to be either.