Prominent voice explains why he likes Harsin

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Prominent voice explains why he likes Auburn’s Bryan Harsin

By Joseph Goodman | jgoodman@al.com

7-8 minutes

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Bryan Harsin is going to do really well at Auburn, a familiar voice said to me on Tuesday.

In a recent column critical of Harsin, my doubts about Auburn’s new coach were loud and angry. Just wait, I was told.

More than anything — except for maybe that he is very pro-vaccine — that’s what Lanett High School football coach Clifford Story wanted me to know. Fall camp might have taken an unfortunate turn with Auburn’s coach and defensive coordinator out with COVID-19, but, according to Story, “once they get everything in the direction they want it going, and [Harsin] gets his guys in there, they’re going to have a lot of success at Auburn.”

We’ll see, but Story’s opinion of Harsin isn’t some take from an Auburn homer with a blog. His is the hope of an invested stakeholder who wants Harsin to succeed at Auburn, yes, but Story’s perspective comes from a place that’s built on sturdier stuff than blind trust. He doesn’t have a choice in the matter. It is his business to be a little more discerning when it comes to the character of coaches in college football, and their abilities to build winners. Story’s son, Caden, is committed to Auburn.

Story wants what’s best for Auburn, and that includes a team that understands the importance of vaccination against COVID-19, but Harsin’s noted refusal to promote vaccination aside, Story likes what he sees. One of the most respected high school football coaches in the state, his words carry great weight, too, so his perspective should come as a relief for Auburn fans who have questioned the new coach in recent weeks.

Still, make no mistake, this outbreak of COVID-19 at Auburn during fall camp threatens the success of the season. For parents of young people at Auburn, Story has a different message.

“Caden isn’t going to be at Auburn for another year, but as a parent I’m going to make sure that, a year from now, he has the booster or whatever the medical recommendation is at that time to protect him,” Story said. “We’re going to do what we’re supposed to do as parents, and that’s make sure that Caden is vaccinated.”

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An elite prospect at defensive end, Caden could go pretty much anywhere next summer to play football. He loved former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, and viewed Malzahn as a “father figure,” according to Cliff Story. When Malzahn was fired, Caden’s recruitment was reopened and other programs swooped in. Harsin locked up Caden’s commitment, dad says, with a no nonsense attitude, and his detailed plan for the future of Auburn football.

Well, what’s the plan?

“It would take me way too long to go through it all,” Story said. “But [Harsin] broke it all down with a long powerpoint presentation. All coaches talk about their plan, but he broke it all down step by step so we could see it.”

Harsin’s plan for Auburn is based on trust, building relationships and creating a family atmosphere, and he shows recruits and their families how those ideas are formed into practical, daily plans with detailed blueprints. And Auburn’s resources for helping Harsin make all that happen, Story notes, are second to none in the country.

Dad Story knows all the tricks in the recruiting game, and emphasized that Harsin “says what he means, and means what he says. He is very straight-forward, and he can command a room.”

“Everything he said he would do, he has done,” Story said. “He said he would make Auburn feel like a family, and he is doing it. The players really respond to him, and I like that he gets out on the field with them and practices. He has put together a great staff, guys who have bought into his vision.

“He has proven himself to my family.”

Families never agree on everything, and the Auburn family knows that better than anyone.

It is fair to criticize the current mismanagement of Auburn’s fall camp, but Story believes that the whole picture of Harsin is one that Auburn fans should embrace. This past week, with Harsin refusing to promote vaccines and then testing positive himself, cast a shadow on the start of Auburn’s season. There is no getting around that. Does Story wish Auburn’s coach promoted vaccines? Yes, of course, and Story is “praying” for everyone at Auburn to get vaccinated for the health of themselves, their teammates and their families.

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But when it comes to football, Story says that Harsin and defensive coordinator Derek Mason set Auburn apart from other programs during recruiting.

“[Mason] is a player’s coach, and full of energy,” Story said. “What I like about him, in addition to that, was when he was breaking down Caden’s film, [Mason] was telling him what he needed to work on and how he fits into what Auburn wants.

“Caden is so athletic to be as big as he is (6-4, 250 pounds),” Story said. “He is one of those kids where he always trained to be a quarterback, and outgrew the position, but kept the ability.”

For measured context on Harsin’s plan for Auburn through the lens of a parent of a future player, know that one of Story’s other sons, Kristian Story, is a sophomore defensive back for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

For appreciation on Cliff Story’s understanding of what it takes to succeed as a coach, realize that he is one of the best high school football coaches in the country. Is that a biased opinion? Yeah, probably so, but there is no one — literally no one — who can do more with less than Cliff Story at Lanett High School in Chambers County, Alabama.

Name another coach anywhere whose football workout facility is currently a charred heap of wreckage from a catastrophic fire, but, despite that major setback, started this high school football season on Friday with a 47-point victory.

“We kinda got out on them early,” Story said.

His burned down football facility, Story is hoping, will be rebuilt by next year. They still could use some help to build it back better than before, he says. Story is pretty good at building things. When it comes to respect, no one commands more of it than the guy who has built Lanett High School football and its athletics department into an example of what small-town schools can accomplish with love and dedication.

That’s the kind of spirit, built by unflappable people, that makes Auburn great.