Former Alabama DL Shannon Brown Remembers His Daughter Five Years After Tornado

When Tuscaloosa was hit with an EF-4 tornado on April 27, 2011, many lives were affected. More than 1,200 were injured and 53 lives were lost in fewer than six minutes.

Among those losses was Loryn Brown. The daughter of 1995 Alabama team captain Shannon Brown lived just off University Boulevard near Druid City Hospital when the storm tore a path through the heart of the city.

"Even though it's been five years, it still feels like it was yesterday," Shannon told host Gary Harris.

Lars Anderson documented the story in The Storm and The Tide, and it's one that Shannon said still gives him chills today. Thankfully, he's been supported by friends and strangers alike in the five years since that day.

"I can't even begin to tell you the amount of people that have tried to reach out to me today...I'm very humble and grateful for the friends and people that I don't even know that are reaching out and lifting myself up."

Out of tragedy comes light. Shannon says that day has given him a new perspective on what's important in life.

"It's really helped me, personally, put things in perspective. All of these material things can always be replaced. We can rebuild. But lives can't come back.

"I want people to understand, you know, sometimes you don't realize how special something is or how good something is until it's gone. I knew my daughter was special, but I didn't learn truly just what an angel she was amongst us until obviously she's no longer here."

Loryn's legacy continues to live on through two scholarships created in her honor. Information on the Loryn Alexandria Brown Memorial Scholarship and the Loryn "Lo" Brown Scholarship can be found here. 

The full conversation with Shannon can be heard in the video below.