The Pittsburgh Steelers reinforced their defensive line when they selected Oregon DT Derrick Harmon with the 21st overall pick on Thursday night. They needed young talent after releasing Larry Ogunjobi and with Cam Heyward getting older.
By now, you’ve seen the highlights of Harmon wrecking offensive lines in the run game and showing an ability to get in the backfield. But who is Harmon?
Dominant High School Lineman
Harmon grew up in Detroit. And he certainly made waves in the Motor City during his high school career. By the time he graduated, he was the third-ranked defensive tackle prospect in the state of Michigan, according to Rivals.com, ESPN, and 247Sports.com.
He wasn’t just recognized by the recruiting sites, either. As a senior, he was named first-team All-State by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press, the Detroit Free Press, and the Detroit News. That’s quite the list of organizations giving him accolades.
Oh, and Harmon played on both the offensive and the defensive lines for all four years of high school.
The Love Of A Mother
To reach that level of play while playing on both sides of the line takes a lot of hard work. Harmon says that his mother worked hard as a single parent to make his dream of being a professional athlete possible.
“I lived with moms, and me and moms was hurting,” Harmon said in an interview with OregonLive.com. “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.”
Unfortunately, his mother has had serious health issues. She suffered a stroke during his time at Michigan State and has struggled since then.
“My mom means everything to me,” Harmon said during a video package played during ABC’s coverage of the first night of the draft. “Her name is Tiffany Saine. That’s my rock, that’s my why. My freshman year at Michigan State, she ended up having a stroke which left her paralyzed on her left side. It was kind of hard, but that’s something that we was used to as far as her healthy, ‘cause growing up, she had about eight brain surgeries.”
Sadly, her health has continued to decline. And when Harmon concluded his media availability with the Pittsburgh media Thursday, he said he was headed to the hospital to let his mom know the good news. She is currently at the hospital on life support.
Transferred From Michigan State To Oregon To Take His Game And Career To The Next Level
After high school, Harmon stayed local when he picked Michigan State over other suitors. A big part of that was to be close to his mom. And when she had the stroke, that proved to be a good choice.
However, Michigan State went through changes during his time there. And that led to discussions about whether he should stay with the Spartans or try to find a better opportunity elsewhere. And Harmon felt like Oregon was the place to go to help make his dreams come true after the coaching staff worked on recruiting him.
“Really just me making a decision for me, what I want to do, feel like was best for me at the end where I’m trying to go,” Harmon said at Oregon’s Football Media Day in 2024 per the GoDucks YouTube channel. “I feel like this coaching staff can take me there. Just putting my faith in them… It was really just them showing me some of my tape both times, really just showing how they can help me.”
NIL Deal Helped His Mom
These days in college football, moves like Harmon’s aren’t strictly about football anymore. There’s the Name, Image, and Likeness deals that go alongside the football. And Harmon received an NIL deal from Oregon. But he didn’t just use it for himself.
“I bought my mom a car…” Harmon said when he was asked about his first NIL purchase by Yahoo Sports. “So I was able to get her a van, accessible-type for her, where she’s able to put her wheelchair in and her partner’s just able to drive her around.”
It’s not uncommon to hear about athletes using their first pro contract to purchase their parents a car or a house. But Harmon, even after moving from Detroit to Eugene, Ore., poured back into his mom’s life to help support her in her health struggles.
Became A Leader At Oregon
Harmon went to Oregon to help develop his game to reach the NFL. And he certainly did that with a successful final season in college (and now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, of course). But during his one season in Oregon, he also gave back to the younger players.
“Being more of a leader, trying to coach the young guys,” Harmon said during another interview with OregonLive.com. “That’s what I kind of get joy from, coaching the young guys… That’s where I get joy out now; I’m an older guy pouring back into the young guys on our team, definitely in our room.”
Obviously, Harmon won’t be a leader fresh off the plane in Pittsburgh. Cam Heyward is the unquestioned leader on the defensive line. And Harmon is looking forward to the chance to learn from Heyward, a player whom he looks up to. But perhaps in the future, Derrick Harmon will be able to step into a leadership role again, like he did at Oregon in 2024.
