Clemson pulled off a late recruiting coup with the signing of Caden Story earlier this week.
The four-star defensive tackle from Lanett High in west Alabama initially committed to Auburn in August, but that was when Nick Eason was still the defensive line coach for the SEC’s Tigers. Story decommitted when Clemson coach Dabo Swinney hired Eason away from Auburn in January to replace former defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, and the rest is history.
Swinney already has a comparison for his newest defensive lineman.
“He’s probably not Bryan Bresee the day he gets here, but he’s got a chance to be a great player,” Swinney said. “I kind of see him as a little taller D.J. Reader. He’s sneaky athletic and going to be a big, big man.”
Reader played at Clemson from 2012-15 before being taken by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He’s now a starting defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals, but football wasn’t the only sport he played in college.
Reader was also a 300-pound pitcher on the baseball team. While Story, a two-time state champion at Lanett, will stick to one sport at Clemson, he also played basketball in high school. Swinney said Story comes from a family full of athletes, including his brother, Kristian, a defensive back at Alabama, and his father, Clifford, who coached him in football at Lanett.
“He’s a big kid that can absolutely move,” Swinney said. “You ought to see him play basketball. He’s got handles. He’s got great feet. He’s soft around the rim. He’s just a really, really good, big athlete. To get a guy like him in this class is going to pay off for us big-time.”
Under normal circumstances, chances would be higher for the 6-foot-3, 280-pound Story to make an immediate impact at Clemson. But the Tigers have their entire two-deep returning along a defensive line that will begin next season as one of the nation’s best, so Clemson’s lone signee at the position may have to wait to crack the rotation.
But that’s not dampening Swinney’s excitement about Story’s potential.
“This kid will have an opportunity to learn from Bryan and learn from Tyler (Davis), Ruke (Orhorhoro) and those guys,” Swinney said. “He’s a big get for us for sure.”
Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.
Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks
