Retired Alabama football coach Nick Saban, along with the slew of national and SEC championships that earned him the title as college football's best coach, is often credited for a measure of UA's enrollment growth over his 17 years in Tuscaloosa. One man's impact on that is difficult if not impossible to calculate, other than to correlate the immense exposure he brought to the school with a student population that grew from roughly 25,000 to 39,000 from Saban's first year to present.

But for anecdotal evidence, there's Devonta Brown.

The Million Dollar Band member was among the students who visited the Saban statue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium on Wednesday night after news broke of Saban's sudden retirement. And had his late stepfather, John Parker, not been such a big fan of Saban's Crimson Tide, the junior computer science major can't say for sure that he would've attended UA.

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"I'm doing this for my dad. He was the biggest Alabama fan I knew, and that's what led me to wanting to follow this team and attend UA. So I studied very hard to get in, and I'm proud of that," said Brown, who is from Enterprise. "... If I'm slipping in classes, I remember I'm doing this for him. If it takes me five years to finish, I'm doing this for him."

That sounds an awful lot like the determined, resilient work ethic Saban instilled in his football players, and displayed himself right through his final day as coach, when he put in a full day's work before informing players of his decision. Brown said Parker died of colon cancer four years ago, when Brown was a high school senior. And knowing how proud Parker would be of Brown attaining an Alabama degree, he's honoring Parker's memory by seeing his education through to that degree.

Brown, 22, is one of 16 baritone players in Alabama's Million Dollar Band. His closest brush with Saban as a student was when the coach would occasionally speak to the MDB on the band's artificial turf practice field on University Boulevard.

"I remember him saying how much hotter our practice field was than the football team's (natural turf) field," Brown said with a laugh.

Wednesday night, Brown joined around 50 people who gathered around the statue, some of whom left behind tokens of appreciation, mostly Saban favorites such as Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies. For Brown, Saban represents something more than wins and championships, however. He was also a big part of Parker's experience as a fan. Brown would often join Parker on the couch on Saturdays, and became a fan himself.

"Unfortunately we didn't beat Michigan (in the College Football Playoff), but I'm proud of all the championships that were won. You put the haters aside, and focus on all that was done," Brown said. "I'm glad for coach Saban that he'll be living his best life now."

Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: How Nick Saban impacted band member's resolve to honor late stepfather