Alabama added commitment No. 22 on Thursday morning in four-star athlete Kristian Story.

The Lanett (Ala.) product chose the Crimson Tide over Texas A&M for a number of reasons, one of which was his primary recruiter Charles Kelly.

The first year UA assistant coached Story’s father Clifford at Jacksonville State. The now Lanett High School head coach is excited about his son’s opportunity to play for his former mentor.

“It really gave me a lot of security,” Clifford Story told BamaOnLine of Kelly. “He’s somebody I knew that I could trust. Outside of just football Coach Kelly was like a mentor and father figure to me. When I first got into coaching I called Coach Kelly and we sat down and talked linebacker play years ago. He and I sat down and talked scheme back then and he said anything he could do to help me he would. He has been true to his word whether he was at Florida State, Georgia Tech, Nicholls State, wherever he’s been, I’ve just been a phone call away. So I trust him strongly. That played a large role in it.

“But like I told my son, I said, ‘This needs to be your decision because you gotta live with it, you gotta do the grind and you gotta do everything that you’re supposed to do to be successful wherever you choose to go. So don’t base it off of my relationship with Coach Kelly. You build your own relationship with Coach Kelly and you can gauge from there if that’s somebody you have grown fond of.’ So that’s what he did. Coach Kelly has really been straightforward with him, he’s really been recruiting him and letting him know he’s a priority.”

Rated a four-star athlete, Story’s contributions to the Tide could come in a number of areas. The two most talked about positions are defensive back and quarterback.

“I’ve always felt like Kristian was a quarterback,” Clifford said. “I’m a long way from a quarterback guy, but the only things he’s learned at quarterback is what I’ve taught him, film study and from visiting other people. So I would just like for him to be in a system with somebody that does it day in and day out and knows it like the back of their hand, and then just see what he can do with it. He’s an accurate passer, the pall jumps out of his hand, he’s very athletic.

“I feel like personally as a dad, I know what’s in him. I know that wherever he goes he’s going to be successful because he has shown me from a little boy that he’s committed to want to be successful and is going to put the work in to be successful. As a little boy he grew up an Alabama fan, he went to games with me when he was little. So what better place to go and to play at than your home state where that’s all you knew growing up?”

Story’s father is excited for the opportunity his son has to represent Alabama, a program he’s long cheered for himself.

“I’m so elated,” Clifford said. “Every time I think about I get tearful because that’s all we knew. Ever since I was a little boy I’ve been an Alabama fan. And to play for the greatest coach of all time in my book because of what he’s been able to do in different eras — a lot of times coaches are stuck in one way, that’s all they know, the game changes and they get behind — Coach Saban has adapted his coaching style and philosophy year in and year out to be on top. Then when you sit down and talk to him, he’s smart. You can tell he’s smart. He’s got a great eye for talent, so his word meant something to us. He’s got a proven track record. I’m just so happy. I am. He can get recruiting behind him and go on and enjoy the rest of his senior season and we can go from there.”