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It was just after daybreak on April 28, the Day After. Nick Saban had spent the dark early hours in his home with his daughter and her sorority sisters, who were desperately trying to contact Ashley Harrison. At first light Saban drove to the football offices to meet with Thad Turnipseed, director of external affairs. Standing in his office at 7:00, he told Turnipseed, "We've got to do something. I'm going to change clothes and get a chain saw, and then we're going out there to do whatever we can."
The two men filled the back of Turnipseed's white pickup truck with 20 cases of Gatorade and bottled water that had been left over from the spring game. With Saban riding shotgun, Turnipseed first drove to the Ferguson Center, located in the center of campus and the hub of student activity. More than 300 students had gathered outside the brick building, scared, confused, wondering what to do. Upon seeing their anxious faces, Saban stepped out of the truck and climbed to the top of a small brick wall. The students fell silent, stunned by the sudden appearance of their famous--and beloved--coach.
"Your time will come," Saban began, "when you will be able to help and volunteer. We're going to need everybody's effort for a long time to get our city back on its feet. Life is all about challenges, and now we're facing a really big one. But working together, we will get through this. Remember, we have to do this together as one team."