My mind can't help but drift back to the immediate aftermath of Todd Bates' departure for Oklahoma.

Dabo Swinney always has a plan, always has a list of prospective candidates should a vacancy arise. And immediately, our radar pointed directly toward Auburn and Nick Eason.

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Problem was, that ship appeared to have all but sailed. The initial word we got was that Eason just couldn't pry himself from The Plains after just one year, after the relationships he'd already built there and the commitment he made to Bryan Harsin and Derek Mason.

And when things turned back to Eason soon thereafter, we were told that Eason's reasoning for initially telling Swinney no-thanks made Swinney want him even more.

From the hindsight of the past six months -- particularly the recent summer recruiting rampage that Eason has helped create -- the addition of this Clemson grad just seems as close to perfect as you could expect.