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The team needed to move to the indoor facility as a result of Jeff Allen's alert to his boss that the team needed to practice indoors.
Allen had only been on the job for a little over two months and didn't fully understand his job at the time.
Within minutes of the team moving indoors, the skies cleared, the sun came up, and Allen looked at the radar to see that there were only a few showers to the east.
It looks great now. There is no lightning warning anymore. Allen told the man to go back out.
A lightning bolt hit over the top of Coleman Coliseum, the Alabama basketball arena a few hundred yards from the practice field, when the team moved back outside.
"I hope you're a better trainer than you are a weatherman, I'm sure as hell," he yelled at Allen.
It was a bad beginning to the relationship between Alabama and Georgia, but the two teams will meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday night, and the relationship will remain at the core of the college football dynasty. The app is available on the ESPN/ESPN App.
Allen has been with the Tide for all but one of the six national titles and has been a part of the weather team for all but one.
DJ Dale said that Jeff is the secret recipe of how everything works here.
Allen has been an award-winning trainer, accomplished enough that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a former Tide star who battled through his share of injuries in college, calls Allen " pretty much a legend at Alabama."
He's been a trusted advisor to the coaches and a surrogate father to the players.
He's been a steady voice of reason, even when the pressure of playing and coaching at Alabama gets to be too much.
He's also been, as the man says, "invaluable."
He's been that way for a long time, according to the coach. "You're talking about a guy that's as solid as it gets when it comes to the kind of person he is, the kind of professionalism he has, his work ethic, attention to detail, everything." All those things are in the same place as Jeff.
"He's always been right there, one of those guys you can count on, no matter what's going on around you, good or bad."
Allen has been referred to as the "last man standing". Allen is the last football staff member that was hired by Saban.
"That should tell you a lot about what Jeff has meant to the program," said former Alabama quarterback Blake Sims. "Coach Saban's resume speaks for itself, and so does Jeff's."
Mike Locksley, a member of Alabama's coaching staff from 2016-18, still has Allen on speed dial for any organizational problems that might crop up in his training room or just about anything else that touches his program.
"If Jeff Allen is the glue that keeps it together, then Nick Saban is the soul of Alabama football," said Mike Locksley.
Jeff Allen has provided stability to the players and staff at Alabama, despite the fact that many of them have left for head coaching jobs.
Nobody within the Alabama football program knows Saban better or is more trusted by him than Allen, who has a priceless collection of memories from their time together. Allen has a keen understanding of what it takes to make Alabama the envy of the college football world.
Allen knew that every single detail mattered when he was offered the job. Allen accepted the call on a Friday in late May. He asked if it would be possible for him to get to campus on Tuesday to finish his work at the school.
There was a brief pause on the phone, and Saban said, "No, I need you here tomorrow." The kiddie camp is starting.
He's been with the team ever since Allen left.
I remember thinking during that camp, if he's coaching these kids like this with this much passion and this much energy, what's it going to be like when the players get here? Allen recalled.
After 15 years, nothing has changed except that the man has gotten better, more efficient, and more adaptive. No matter how many staff members he loses or how many coordinators he loses, there's a steadfastness about the man. Allen has been in the front row.
People always ask me what led to the success of the coach. Allen said something. It's almost like they want you to say one thing. It's more than one thing. It's a lot of little things. He's in tune with the little things, not just the big things, and that's part of our program.
Alabama has won as much as any other college football team over the last decade and a half, but for Allen, it goes much deeper than that.
Allen said he has watched him be a husband, father and friend to people. Those are the moments I will remember.
The emotional team meeting held the day after the devastating tornado that killed 53 people in Tuscaloosa is one of the most moving moments in Allen's life.
The power went out in the football complex, and the players were addressed by the coach.
There was some natural lighting, but that was it. Everyone should go home and be with their families. We will tell you when to come back.
Allen said that he remembered the coach telling the players that they had a responsibility to this town and to this state to be something positive.
After away games, Allen and the rest of the team would go back to the airport to meet the rest of the team. When it's time to tape the coaches show, it's usually just the two of them, along with an Alabama state trooper and sometimes sports information director Josh Maxson, in the car.
The ride back to the airport was quiet a year ago, after Alabama crushed Ohio State 52-24 to win the national title and complete an perfect season.
But all of a sudden, he looked over at Allen and exclaimed, "We just won the national championship!"
Allen shot back, "Yes sir, we did."
Allen remembers the shock on everyone's faces after the kick-six loss to auburn.
"After the second-and-26 play to beat Georgia for the national title, I remember the shock in a much different way than I usually do," said Allen, who is usually one of the first people to see the football coach every morning.
Allen knows that the future Hall of Famer doesn't show to just anyone, a tender side and a witty side.
"It could be that he and his daughter FaceTiming after the game, or we were laughing about some of the moments in the game," Allen said. He does laugh.
After a 27-21 victory in overtime against his old team, the LSU head coach was being whisked away from Tiger Stadium.
"People know who's in there when you're pulling out in a black SUV and you've got a police escort in front of you," Allen said. They were beating on the car and yelling. He looked at me and said he didn't think they liked me very much.
After defeats, Allen is amazed at how his boss processes things, because they have only experienced 18 together in the last 14 seasons.
After the national championship game in Santa Clara, California, in which he was defeated 44-16 by Clemson, the coach was reflective on the ride back to the airport.
He sat there and took all the blame. Allen said that he didn't do a good job of preparing the team, but that was far from the truth. That's him.
Allen's relationship with the players is similar to his relationship with the coach. It's not just confined to the training room.
Dale credits Allen with keeping him invested after he had surgeries on his knees. We'll be at his house in the summer, playing basketball and swimming. It's rare since he's not a coach. He's more than a coach because he has the kind of connection with the players that every program needs, but not every program has.
Kevin Steele was one of the assistants that talked with Allen before he got the job at Alabama, and he served two different times with Allen at Alabama. Steele, who's coached at four different SEC schools, said Allen is as smart as any member of the football staff he's ever been around.
Steele said that he keeps everyone from running in them.
It's not uncommon to see a who's who list of former Alabama players now playing in the NFL, such as Jonathan Allen, Mark Ingram, or even just to connect with a guy who's been there before.
"Our guys playing in the NFL come back to get his advice on any number of things," he said. "Jeff is a good person, a good human being, and you can trust him in every way to do the right things for the organization." It's hard to find that sometimes.
Every player who's come and gone from Alabama has a favorite story about Allen.
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In the 2012 SEC championship game, All-America offensive lineman Barrett Jones tore his left foot and missed the rest of the season. Allen flew with Jones to Nike headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, just before Christmas to have a specially fitted shoe made for Jones to alleviate the pressure on his foot. The anti-gravity treadmill was flown out to Miami so Jones could rehabilitate his foot before the game.
"That's the kind of guy Jeff is," Jones said. He has the players' best interests at heart and not just the program's best interests. He wasn't afraid to stand up to the coach when he thought a player couldn't go, but he was more willing to push a player to get ready to play.
Greg McElroy, who was an analyst at ESPN at the time, still owes Allen a debt of gratitude for getting him healthy enough to play in the national championship game after breaking two ribs in the SEC title game.
The initial X-ray didn't show any damage to the ribs, but the pain persisted for more than a week after the game. He knew something wasn't right. The two cracks and inflammation between the ribs were shown on an additional magnetic resonance.
It wasn't good, didn't look good, but I remember him saying, "You're not going to miss this game." "We're going to do everything we can to get you out there." You don't know how soothing that is when you're facing the possibility of not being able to play in the biggest game of your career.
Allen found a bone stimulator for the Tide quarterback to use to speed up his recovery and promised to stay with him until midnight if it took to get him back on the field.
"Anything to make me feel better," he said. I was not going to miss that game. My mom didn't know I had cracked ribs. If she had known the extent of the injury, she would have freaked out.
The thoroughness, compassion and fatherly approach by Allen and his entire staff is what makes Corey Miller so blown away. After tearing his bicep in the national championship game at Alabama, Christian Miller missed most of the season, but was able to return for the title game against Georgia and had a sack.
Miller was hurt again at the end of the season. He was unable to play in the national championship game because he was not ready.
Miller said that they wouldn't put him out there at 70% and that Nick would fall in line with what Jeff said. I have always respected the way they went about that decision, as a father and a player in the NFL. They needed Christian, who was a fourth-round pick of the Carolina panthers, and his pass-rushing ability in that game, but they weren't going to jeopardize his future.
Dickerson tore his knee in the SEC championship game a year ago and was unable to play in the playoffs. Dickerson saw the side of Allen that has made him a favorite with all of the players and coaches who have come through the program.
Dickerson, who was taken in the second round of the NFL draft, said that Jeff Allen has been the constant for the players and the coach at Alabama. There's a misconception at Alabama that once a player gets hurt, they just bring up the next five-star guy who's ready to take his place, and you're forgotten about. That's not true.
When I got hurt, it didn't change how Jeff or anyone treated me.
Allen has had his share of "ass-chewings" but he jokes that he learned a long time ago to listen to what he was saying and not how he was saying it.
"If it happens, it's usually Jeff's fault," he said laughing. He lets it roll off him and knows the players love him. Jeff is so grounded to the floor that he can deal with anything, and he is the lightning rod.
Allen, who was named collegiate athletic trainer of the year in both of the last two years, is also cutting edge, as evidenced by the fact that he was also named the top collegiate athletic trainer in both of the last two years.
The portable injury tents you see on the sidelines for college and football games were the brainchild of Allen. He formed a company with two Alabama engineering students and a man to create tents that would provide immediate medical assistance and privacy instead of taking the player back to the locker room. If a player is not seriously injured, he can get back into the game quicker.
Allen credits his entire training staff. When Alabama's athletics training staff was formed, Ginger Gilmore-Childress and Jeremy Gsell were already on it.
"We've had guys who come back from injuries and done so quickly, but that's not Jeff Allen," Allen said. "That is just our whole program and the mindset of these kids more than it is me."
Allen's steadfast nature in sports medicine has led to a profound trust from former and current Tide players.
Allen first felt his calling to be an athletic trainer when he attended the Johnny Majors football camp in 1988. He tore his knee at Tennessee, which is home to one of Alabama's longest standing rivals.
That's where it started for me. Allen, who was raised in Georgia and attended Georgia and Tennessee football games, said he knew what he wanted to do.
Lance Thompson was an assistant coach at Alabama for a while and is now the inside linebackers coach at Florida Atlantic. When Thompson was hired by Saban, he was working with Allen and Thompson at UCF. Thompson had just the guy, and the other guy was also looking for a trainer.
Thompson said that Jeff is the Nick Saban of football trainers. He's the best trainer in the country in terms of the team's success, and he has a greater impact than any other trainer.
Jim McElwain, who was the offensive coordinator for Alabama's 2009 and 2011 national championship teams, said he's been around few staff members who could capture the pulse of a locker room the way Allen can.
The kids trust him a lot. He can give some valuable insight to the coach about the locker room's mood.
Allen has stayed put at Alabama, despite the fact that many of the Tide's assistant coaches have gone to head coaching opportunities.
He has had other opportunities. He thought a lot about an offer he had in the year before. He admits that it was close, but he doesn't want to specify the team.
Allen decided that Alabama was where he and his family would stay after Texas made a hard run at him following the 2012 season. She is a twirler in the band.
Why would you ever leave this place, when you are surrounded by people like coach Saban who make you better? Allen said something.
There's no replacing Allen, who's around the players more than anyone else, according to the one with the statue.
"That's a great place to get a feel for where everybody is, where their focus is and anything else that might be going on," said the Alabama coach. I trust Jeff with that because I know if he comes to me with something that we need to get on it right away.
Allen, because of his relationship, gets a lot of questions about how long the coach is going to stay. Allen doesn't have a crystal ball, but he's been around for a long time and knows that his boss enjoys having an impact on people.
It's a calling. Allen said it's not work for him. A player from the 2011 team came back a few weeks ago and he had a hard time playing but stuck with it. He talked about how much coach helped him. It was obvious to him how much it meant to hear that.
People think it's only about winning. It's deeper than that for him.
Allen's greatest task might be to keep the Alabama coaching job open, at least in the eyes of the Alabama fans. They get each other, understand each other and are fiercely motivated to keep the Alabama football machine going.
Allen wants to help him finish the way he wants to finish, and he hopes that will be a long time coming.
Allen might get his own statue one day.
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