Clifford Story will sit in the stands this weekend at Bryant-Denny Stadium, look out onto the field to find his son Kristian Story and see if this year will be different.

In 2020, the younger Story enrolled at Alabama as a confident four-star prospect that earned national recognition and won a state championship at Lanett High with Clifford as head coach. Back then, Story said he wanted to be remembered in the halls after being a four-sport star. Listed as an athlete by recruiting sites, he had the courage to want to challenge another incoming freshman quarterback in Tuscaloosa: Bryce Young. But personal crises and the pandemic derailed Story’s freshman year. Injuries and “little, minor stuff” stunted his second and third seasons.

This weekend’s A-Day scrimmage — Story’s last as he plans to graduate in December — could be the biggest building block yet in Story realizing the goals he and Clifford have set. Clifford told AL.com his son seems like a “totally different kid” this spring, noting Story is more serious, even around his younger brothers. It’s translated to the field with Story intercepting a few passes in the Tide’s early scrimmages.

Alabama’s 2019 Mr. Football could have an opportunity in the Tide’s secondary. With both starting safeties gone from last year’s 11-2 squad, Story is the most veteran returner in the unit along with Malachi Moore, who’s gotten snaps at both safety and STAR. Clifford said that if the “breakout” was to happen in Story’s senior year, the first signs will pop up on A-Day.

“That’s gonna be a tell-all, especially for me as a high school coach who raised him and coached him. I’ll know after that game what direction he’s gonna be headed,” Clifford Story said. “… A lot of people probably been waiting for him to get on the field but I know my child. If he’s out there on that field, things gonna happen. He’s got great ball skills, he’s instinctive, he can read the quarterback really well and I think he gonna make a lot of plays.”

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Before Story could settle in at safety, a role he never specifically trained at in high school, he needed to pick a position. Nick Saban told Story that he could play anywhere he wanted but the coaching staff had the right to move him if he struggled. Clifford sat his son down before enrollment and told him he could challenge Young and the Tide’s other throwers if he wanted. A father wanted to make sure his son kept his confidence yet also be realistic in evaluating playing opportunities.

But after being in Tuscaloosa for about two weeks in the summer of 2020, the world shifted again for Story.

“I got some bad news, son,” Clifford recalled telling Kristian over the phone.

“Just tell me it’s not Quae,” Kristian Story answered.

Quae was short for Jaquarious Houston, Story’s childhood friend who died at 18 years old months before he was set to attend Faulkner University and join its football team. Hoston had grown close to the family after meeting Story in second grade and was viewed as a sibling to Story and his younger two brothers. Clifford called the group “inseparable.” The pain was only compounded when eight months later Naya Robinson, Houston’s mother died too.

Three hours away in Lanett, while Clifford coached Story’s brother Caden Story through his high school career and commitment to Clemson, the father worried about his oldest. Kristian Story had always held in his emotions and was never the most vocal kid, Clifford said. While finding himself within Alabama’s program, Clifford knew Story would need help.

“I called (then-safeties coach Charles) Kelly and said, ‘You’re gonna have to get him in because he’s not gonna express himself, he’s not going to tell you what’s really going on. He’s gonna need some help,’” Clifford Story said. “They were really great with him.”

Story didn’t see the field as a freshman. Saban tabbed him as a “quality backup” ahead of Story’s sophomore year and he was, getting in 12 games as a special teamer in 2021. Story was in all 13 games last year but his overall development was hurt when he missed time with a concussion and shoulder surgery. In 23 games, Story has made seven tackles mostly on special teams.

Following the Tide’s second scrimmage on April 15, Saban said Story understood the demand of the program but like other players lacked a consistent “high level of intensity” and the “juice” needed to be a starter. Clifford agreed, acknowledging that Story can be a “little casual” at times on the field in the past. Through 14 spring practices, Story just sounds different, his dad said. After one practice while Story gave a recap to Clifford, he didn’t want to talk about the interception he had but instead, he was upset at a few missed tackles.

Since last December’s Sugar Bowl win over Kansas State, Story has talked with his dad on the phone almost every night and reviewed his dreams for the season. The steps to achieving them started this spring and will wrap up, for now, in Bryant-Denny Stadium this weekend. Whenever Clifford feels Story is losing some motivation, Clifford reminds him of the time he’s missed and what’s at stake now.

“His first two years over there was really, really hard,” Clifford said. ” … As a dad, you know you have so much compassion and you want so much from your children. But first of all, I wanted him to be in a mental state to where he could go and compete at that level.

“He couldn’t find himself or get himself together but through prayer and staying committed to the process and what he knew he signed up for, that was really big to know everything was gonna be OK.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].