Thursday night was both triumphant and tragic for college football star Derrick Harmon.

Although Harmon fulfilled a lifelong dream when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted the defensive tackle in the first round of the NFL draft, his mother died the same evening.

Harmon’s mother, Tiffany Saine, had had serious health problems for years and underwent several brain surgeries. She also suffered a stroke in 2022 during Harmon’s freshman year in college that left her paralyzed on the right side of her body.

“It was a little bittersweet,” Harmon told reporters Thursday after he was selected by the Steelers. “My mom wasn’t with me. She’s at the hospital right now on life support. After I get off the phone, I’m going to head straight to the hospital and tell her her son got drafted.”

Saine died in a Detroit hospital that night shortly after Harmon visited her to tell her the big news.

Despite her health problems, Saine managed to work full-time as a hotel manager when her son was younger.

After he went to the Rose Bowl, Harmon told reporters that the best purchase he made with his name, image and likeness (NIL) money was a wheelchair-accessible van for Saine.

“I grew up with her having probably seven, eight brain surgeries,” Harmon told reporters Thursday night. “And after all those brain surgeries, she did not give up. She still took me to practice, still went to work. And I always, always got in the back of 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 surgery?”

In a video ESPN released on Thursday, Harmon referred to his mom as his “rock” and his “why” and said, “She’s the one that did everything for me to get to that point. I love you, Mom, everything I do is for you. I’m forever grateful.”