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How Nick Saban and Tuscaloosa drew closer after Alabama's 2011 tornado

AT SUNRISE, 6:57 a.m. to be exact, on Jan. 12, 2021, Ellen Potts' phone chimed. Still groggy, the executive director of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, chapter of Habitat for Humanity checked the notification to see a familiar name: Terry Saban.

Potts was surprised to hear from the wife of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban so soon. Only a few hours earlier, the Crimson Tide had beaten Ohio State to win the school's 18th national championship. The team bus hadn't left Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida until well after midnight, which meant Terry was either running on very little sleep or none at all.