Driving down Interstate 20/59, Clark Flatt couldn't believe it. He'd just left Nick Saban's office in Tuscaloosa last May, and before reaching Birmingham, the political wheels were moving.

A friend of the Alabama football coach for 15 years, Flatt had the brief talk with Saban about bringing his cause to Alabama. His son, Jason Flatt, committed suicide in 1997. Since then, he's helped bring the Jason Flatt Act to 17 states in an effort to prevent future deaths.

Alabama would be number 18.

Saban kick-started the effort with a few phone calls last year. After Flatt left his office, Saban reached out to state Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa. They had a conversation Allen described as "heart to heart," which lasted about five to seven minutes. Saban also called Gov. Robert Bentley's office.

Both elected officials called Flatt before his car reached Birmingham. They were on board.

Flatt was stunned by the speed with which Saban got things moving. The bill began in committee Tuesday in Montgomery and Allen said he hopes to have a vote for it next week.

This is a non-partisan piece to legislation that has not failed in any of the 17 states in which it was introduced. It requires annual suicide awareness prevention education for K-12 school personnel. Training would be done on already scheduled in-service days and wouldn't cost additional money.

Nick Saban receives a youth suicide prevention award in 2012 standing next to Clark Flatt (right).

The Alabama version of the bill started that afternoon in Saban's office. An AFCA ambassador for the Jason Foundation for 15 years, the coach gets regular updates from Clark Flatt. They were wrapping up a conversation last spring when Saban asked why the legislation had not come to Alabama.

"What do you need?" Saban asked.

Next came the call to Allen and Bentley. They needed a strong leader in the legislature to support the movement. The senator remembers his assistant's reaction when the phone rang.

"She ran into my office and said to me Coach Saban is on the telephone," Allen said after a news conference with Saban on Tuesday in Tuscaloosa.

Saban had told Flatt he needed a week or so to get things moving. Allen remembers Flatt was "flabbergasted" when he called immediately after talking to Saban.

"You guys know Coach Saban, when he gets something in his mind ... so before I could drive 45 minutes, I had the connection and the framework to bring the Jason Flatt Act here," said Clark Flatt, a Hendersonville, Tenn., resident. "It's so important. It will save young lives. There's no 'It might' or 'It might be helpful.' By implementing this, there will be young people alive that would not be alive if this thing wasn't there to provide teachers warning signs."

Though he's a popular name as a write-in candidate in the state of Alabama, Saban doesn't delve into that world too often. He grew up with West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, so he's not completely unfamiliar with that world.

Saban said Tuesday he took up this cause because of the time he's spent with young people. In 2012, he received the Grant Teaff "Breaking the Silence" Award for his efforts in youth suicide prevention.

"We've been very, very fortunate through the years to have very few players suffer issue and problems when we were coaching them," Saban said. "But we have had some. And it's one of the most devastating things that you have to go through, even as a coach. I never experienced it as a parent. ... I'm here to help the young people. This is not a political thing for me.

"Aight, this is all about how can we help our youth have a better opportunity with our help and assistance, that we can see warning signs of something that is very, very preventable."

Allen, a state legislator since 1994, can't remember getting a phone call from Saban like that before. He did, however, have a two-hour conversation in an airport with Saban a few years ago about laws governing unscrupulous sports agents.

"I'm telling you, there are 4.8 million folks in Alabama," Allen said, "everyone knows who Coach Saban is. They know the impact that he has with the people."