After Derrick Harmon was the 21st overall pick Thursday, the newest Pittsburgh Steeler had to break the news to his mother.
Harmon was unable to watch the draft with his mother because she was on life support in a hospital.
Harmon said getting drafted was “bittersweet” because he couldn’t spend it with his mom.
Right after being selected, Harmon traveled to a hospital to visit his mother, Tiffany Saine, and tell her “her son got drafted.”
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According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saine died shortly after.
Harmon, a defensive tackle, was taken by the Steelers.
Harmon said his mother had a stroke when he was a freshman at Michigan State, which left her paralyzed on her left side. She had “about eight brain surgeries,” Harmon said.
“She’s the reason I’m here. She’s the reason I did everything up to this point,” Harmon said.
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Harmon also said he used his NIL money to buy his mother an accessible van.
“Man, how resilient she was, man. Just growing up from my standpoint, my situation, I grew up with her having probably seven, eight brain surgeries,” Harmon said after being selected. “And after all those brain surgeries, man, she did not give up.
“She still took me to practice, still went to work. Always the back in my head from the beginning of my college career was, ‘Why can’t I keep going? If I’m tired, I’m injured, whatever it is, why can’t I keep going, if she can get up and she can keep going after brain surgeries.’
“So just her resilience and her hard work, really. She was my inspiration.”
The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Harmon spent three seasons at Michigan State before transferring to Oregon, where he blossomed into a disruptive force. Harmon was a second-team All-American last season while finishing with five sacks and 10½ tackles for loss for the Ducks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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