Nick Saban sends heartfelt message of support to Florida, everyone impacted by Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday, making its way up the Florida peninsula. Support continues to roll in for people in the storm’s path — and when a reporter asked Alabama coach Nick Saban if he reached out to anyone he knows there, he shared a personal connection.

“How about it’s hitting right on my house?” Saban responded.

That means Saban can empathize with people bracing for the impact of the hurricane, which was a Category 4 when it reached Florida Wednesday afternoon. Nonetheless, he’s hoping for a best-case scenario for everyone involved.

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“My thoughts and prayers are out to everybody that’s in this situation, but we certainly feel it, too,” Saban said during his Wednesday press conference. “So, we have not only a lot of respect, admiration and compassion for the people who are affected by this all over the state of Florida, but because we feel the pain, as well. We’re just hopeful that nobody gets injured and everybody is safe and the damage is not too devastating.”

Mike Norvell shares how Florida State will support athletes amid Hurricane Ian impact

Tallahassee isn’t in the path of Hurricane Ian, so it looks like Florida State will miss the brunt of the storm. But that doesn’t mean Seminoles athletes won’t be impacted, especially considering how many are from Florida.

Mike Norvell knows that, and it’s why he’s planning to support his players in any way he can.

The storm made landfall on Florida Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane as Floridians brace for the strong winds and rain. As Florida State prepares for its next game against Wake Forest this weekend, Norvell said he understands if some of his players — especially the 65 players listed on the official roster who are from Florida — have more pressing concerns.

“Any time you have families affected by natural disasters, some things that we cannot control, these guys, also, they all have lives and all their families have things that happen. When those situations come up, we want to be there, we want to be supportive of our players and understand the feelings and emotions that they go through,” Norvell said, in part. “When you step out on this field and you get an opportunity to … really just hone in on what we’re doing here, sometimes that can be a great distraction to all the other things that are going on in this world. It’s challenging, it’s hard. A lot of these guys, they have families that are being impacted by the hurricane or that have potential to be impacted by the hurricane.”