The secret to Eason's recruiting success is Nick being Nick

He’s just being the best Nick Eason he can be.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jul 27 08:00:05 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Walk into Clemson’s football facility and you’ll quickly find out that Nick Eason is the happiest man on the property. He has a kind word and a smile for everybody, and his laugh and easy-going demeanor are infectious. There isn’t any pretense there, he’s just being the best Nick Eason he can be.

Eason was a four-year letterman at Clemson from 1999-2002, playing 47 games with 35 starts and recording 15 sacks and 30 tackles for loss. He returned home to his alma mater on Jan. 7, 2022 upon being hired as Clemson’s defensive run game coordinator and defensive tackles coach. Eason spent a combined 17 years in the NFL as a player and coach before taking over as a defensive line coach at Auburn in 2021.

Eason has yet to coach a game at Clemson, but he’s already made his mark by reeling in big-time recruit Caden Story in February, and over the last two months has helped land three verbal commitments in this cycle — 5-star Peter Woods, 4-star Stephiylan Green and 4-star Vic Burley.

Eason, in his typical fashion, downplayed his own role in landing those recruits.

“Clemson will sell itself. I just need to get the recruits here,” Eason said. “Dabo will knock it out of the park being who he is. He’s going to talk for about four hours and you’ll know everything about him, our facilities, our staff, his family and the city of Clemson. That’s what makes us unique and better than any place in the country — it’s the people in the building. I keep saying that we have wonderful staff in every department of our facility and everybody here is just good people.”

When it comes to talking to high school coaches, recruits, and the parents of those recruits, Eason believes that honesty is the best policy.

“I just really take time to allow recruits and parents to see who I am as a person,” Eason said. “It’s easy to go on the internet and you can Google and see the places I’ve been and some of the things I’ve done, but who really is Nick Eason? That goes down to just talking about my past. Not all of it is good, so people want to hear those things about who I really am as a person? Who are they going to be sending their son off to be around and be molded as a man and as a football player for the next three-or-four years of their lives?”

While Name/Image/Likeness – or NIL – has changed the way many schools both operate and recruit, Eason said he and Clemson will continue to be a little different.

“The kids that love what we bring to the table at Clemson will come and the ones that don’t will go other places,” Eason said. “It depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a faith-based program that’s going to treat you like family, that’s gonna develop you as a man, then Clemson’s for you. If you’re trying to chase dollars this isn’t the place for you. And I’m OK with that.

“NIL has really changed the game and kids earn it, but at the end of the day, we don’t lead with that. We have NIL plans here at Clemson, but we’re not going to lead with that. We want you to love Clemson like I loved and came here for reasons of education, the facilities and the people in this building and how we can mold you as a man. That hasn’t changed. I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”