The date of the 2025 NFL Draft will forever carry a heavy significance for Derrick Harmon. On Thursday, Harmon heard Commissioner NFL Roger Goodell call his name as he became a member of the Steelers family. This moment was a culmination of years of hard work for the Detroit native, but soon after getting picked, Harmon described the experience as “bittersweet.” He revealed that his mother, Tiffany Saine, was on life support at the time. He had often drawn strength from her resilience, especially during tough times in college when he struggled.  “After I get off the phone with you guys, I’m going to head straight to the hospital and tell her her son got drafted,” Harmon said, appearing to become emotional.

Harmon kept his promise, paid his mother a visit, and informed her of his NFL move. However, in a cruel twist of fate, hours after he became a Steeler, news broke out that his mother had passed away. His new team later confirmed the news. “Though we are excited to select Derrick in the first round of the NFL Draft, our hearts are heavy as we mourn the death of his mother, Tiffany Saine. We will support Derrick and his family however we can as he navigates this period of grief,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said Friday in a statement.

During his freshman year at Michigan, Derrick Harmon was sitting at Cracker Barrel with his Michigan State football teammates when he first received the news that Tiffany Saine had suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. A freshman at the time, Harmon’s heart sank as he jumped into his car, the 90-minute drive to Detroit feeling like an eternity. Each passing mile was filled with the gnawing fear that he might not make it in time. But his mother fought through, and although the road ahead would be long, Saine survived — paralyzed on her left side and unable to walk, but never losing her strength. This was the strength that had defined her and inspired her son.

“Just growing up from my standpoint and my situation, I grew up with her having probably seven to eight brain surgeries, and after all those brain surgeries, she did not give up. She still took me to practice, still went to work. Always in the back of my head from the beginning of my college career was, ‘Why can’t I keep going if I’m tired or I’m injured, whatever it is, why can’t I keep going if she can get up and keep going after brain surgery.’ So just her resilience and her hard work. She was my inspiration.” Harmon said, paying an emotional tribute to his mother.

Saine raised Harmon as a single mother on Seven Mile Road in Detroit, stretching every dollar to ensure he could continue playing football, even when he was just a 5-year-old. Despite enduring multiple brain surgeries before the stroke, she worked full-time as a hotel manager, never letting her own struggles stand in the way of providing for her son’s dreams.

Harmon spent the first three seasons of his college career at Michigan State before transferring to Oregon for the 2024 season. Leaving his mother was a difficult decision, but she encouraged him to take the next step for himself, telling him it was time to pursue his own path.

“It was very hard leaving and going to Oregon. It was probably the hardest decision I had to make. I sat down with my mom and we had a discussion. She told me every decision I made up to this point was for her, it’s time to make a decision for myself. I carried that through the whole process of going 2,000 miles away all the way to Oregon,” Harmon told ESPN.

In return, Harmon used some of his NIL earnings to buy her a wheelchair-accessible van ahead of the Rose Bowl in December, according to Ryan Clarke of The Oregonian. Clarke said the mother and son remained close when he was at Oregon. “He kept in touch with her every day over FaceTime, and she actually had a chance to fly out to Eugene and take in one of the games against Boise State early in the year. So that was very special for both of them to share that time for sure,” Clarke noted.

This past season, Saine flew out to watch her son play in person for the Oregon Ducks, where Harmon recorded five sacks and 45 tackles under Dan Lanning as the Ducks went unbeaten in the regular season.

“I lived with moms, and me and moms was hurting,” Harmon said last year. “She really broke her back trying to get me to every camp, every visit I could get to. Any time somebody invited me to a camp, she tried her best to get me out there. I never took that for granted. I still thank her to this day for what she did.”

Harmon’s mother’s belief and his perseverance paid off as the Steelers came calling with their 21st first-round pick. But just when he should have been celebrating, he got the news that his lifelong supporter and pillar of his strength, his mom, passed away 487 miles away in a hospital.

Soon, messages of condolences and support poured in for the 21-year-old as fans from Oregon and Pittsburgh came together in this moment of grief.

Oregon and the Steelers’ community pour in support for Derrick Harmon

Harmon described Saine as her “rock.” “I love you, Mom, everything I do is for you, and I’m forever grateful,” he told ESPN. Soon after the news of his mother’s demise, the Oregon and Steelers fraternities poured in heartfelt messages for the defensive tackle. One fan wrote, “Love, thoughts, and prayers to Derrick and his family. That’s heartbreaking, but at least she got to share that moment with him. I hope this young man has a legendary career with his team.”

On a massive night for Harmon, this news would’ve been tough to take. When his NFL future was announced, Harmon was surrounded by the rest of his family in his hometown of Detroit. The fact that he got the chance to deliver the news to his mother, just before she passed away, left a fan heartbroken. They wrote, “He got to tell his mom he made it. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔.”

It was evident how much his mother meant to him, and it is gut wrenching that she wouldn’t get to see him being a pro, having been part of his journey. A user mentioned, “Such a sad f—– story. RIP, I hope Derrick can find peace and dominate in this league.”

“On behalf of the entire Pittsburgh Steelers organization, I extend our deepest condolences to Derrick Harmon and his family during this difficult time,” said part of Art Rooney II’s statement. The show of support and compassion by his new team had one fan convinced, “He’s gonna be a Steeler for life.”

Another user summarized the cruelty of life. “Man, that’s heartbreaking. One of the best moments of his life followed by one of the worst.” The news is undoubtedly heartbreaking, and it may take some time for the player to emerge from it. But we will hope he comes back strong and lights up those charts, and has a rookie season that makes his mom proud.