Derrick Harmon made it to his late mother’s hospital room to share her final moments shortly after he was chosen in the primary round of the NFL Draft.
In a video posted to Harmon’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, April 29, it was revealed that the football star’s mother, Tiffany Saine, passed away “together with her son by her side.”
Saine’s death got here just hours after Harmon, 21, was chosen with the twenty first overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, April 24.
Harmon’s mother suffered a stroke during Harmon’s freshman yr at Michigan State in 2021, which left her paralyzed on her left side. Harmon has said his mother’s stroke was something his family “was used to,” because his mother had “about eight brain surgeries” during his childhood.
A big group of Harmon’s family and friends gathered in his hometown of Detroit to observe the draft on TV.
Shortly after his name was called, the YouTube video showed Harmon excusing himself from the room and starting to sob. “You’re imagined to be here,” he might be heard saying through his tears.
Harmon transferred to the University of Oregon in May 2024, making the difficult decision to maneuver across the country from his mother, who was living in Michigan, for the sake of his football profession.
“I sat down with my mom and we had a discussion,” Harmon said during an ESPN profile that aired in the course of the NFL Draft on Thursday. “She told me every decision I made up up to now was for her and it’s time to make a call for myself.”
During an interview before the Rose Bowl in January, Harmon said he used a few of his own NIL money to buy his mother a wheelchair-accessible van.
Harmon’s mother’s presence was felt throughout draft night, even when she wasn’t capable of be there physically.
“She’s on the hospital at once on life support, in order that was a bit bittersweet because she worked just as hard as me to get to this moment,” Harmon said on a media call after his selection. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m very excited.”
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He added, “After I get off the phone with you guys, I’m going to move straight to the hospital and tell her that her son got drafted.”
Harmon explained how he used his mother’s perseverance to maintain him going throughout his own journey.
“In any case those brain surgeries, man, she didn’t hand over,” he told reporters on Thursday. “She still needed practice, still went to work. At all times behind my head from the start of my college profession was: ‘Why can’t I keep going? If I’m drained, injured, whatever it’s, why can’t I keep going?’ If she will rise up and she will keep going after brain surgeries.”
Harmon added, “She was my inspiration.”
