PITTSBURGH (AP) — When things got tough for Derrick Harmon during his college career at Michigan State and Oregon, the defensive tackle would gather strength from his mother, Tiffany Saine.
“In the back of my head, from the beginning of my college career I (kept thinking) how can I (not) keep going if I’m tired? I’m injured? Whatever it is,” Harmon said. “Why (can’t) I keep going if she can get up and she keeps going after brain surgery. This is our resilience and our hard work, really. ”
Saine endured numerous brain surgeries and a stroke in recent years as her son evolved from prospect to likely NFL first-round pick. And shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Harmon 21st overall late Thursday night, he went to visit his mother to say goodbye.
Saine died within hours of her son realizing a dream they had worked so hard together to achieve.
Harmon said minutes after receiving a phone call from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that his mother was on life support but did not get into details.
“After I get off the phone with you guys, I’m headed straight to the hospital to tell her (that her) son got drafted,” Harmon said.
Steelers President Art Rooney II extended the team’s condolences to their newest star.
“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,” Rooney said in a statement. “We will support Derrick and his family however we can as he navigates this period of grief. In times like this, we hope Derrick finds comfort in the love and support from the organization and Steelers fans around the world.”
Harmon, 21, called the moment he became a professional bittersweet. He had a draft party and members of his immediate and extended family were at his side when the moment finally arrived. Yet his mind could not help but drift to the person who might not be there physically, well aware that in some ways, she will be with him forever.
“After all those brain surgeries, man, she did not give up,” Harmon said. “She still went to practice, still went to work.”
And now Harmon will face the difficult task of trying to do the same, though he won't do it alone.
“I’m very blessed to have (a) village around me,” he said.
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FILE - Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday he's moving to set up direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as he can, after Putin opted to skip peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey.
“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” Trump told reporters as he wrapped a four-day visit to the Middle East.
Trump later told reporters after boarding Air Force One to begin the journey back to Washington that he may call Putin soon.
“He and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it or maybe not,” Trump said. “At least we’ll know. And if we don’t solve it, it’ll be very interesting.”
Trump reiterated that he wasn’t surprised that Putin skipped out on the talks set for Friday in Turkey. Putin didn’t want to go because he’s not there, Trump said.
The Republican president added that he would hold a meeting with Putin “as soon as we can set it up.”
“I would actually leave here and go,” said Trump, who noted his daughter Tiffany just gave birth to her first child. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to take part in the talks as Trump pressed for the leaders to find a solution to the war, ongoing since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But Putin spurned the call to meet face-to-face with Zelenskyy.
Trump has pressed both sides to quickly come to a war-ending agreement. Zelenskyy has agreed to an American plan for an initial 30-day halt to hostilities, but Russia has not signed on and has continued to strike at targets inside Ukraine.
Still, Russia and Ukraine were holding their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for negotiations. Officials and observers expect them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than 3-year-old war.
“He didn’t go, and I understand that,” Trump said. “We’re going to get it done. We got to get it done. Five thousand young people are being killed every single week on average, and we’re going to get it done.”
Trump on Thursday told reporters that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock.
“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying."
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint press statement with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Promsvyazbank CEO Pyotr Fradkov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Alexander Kryazhev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump tours the Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque at the Abrahamic Family House, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump talks before signing guest book at the Abrahamic Family House, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump attends a business meeting and roundtable at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
