Derrick Harmon (born August 3, 2003) is an American professional

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defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

and

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

. Harmon was selected by the Steelers in the first round of the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

Harmon was born on August 3, 2003, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He attended Loyola High School. He was a three-star recruit and committed to play

for the

over offers from schools such as

Memphis Tigers The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...

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, and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

College career

Michigan State

As a freshman at Michigan State in 2021, Harmon played in four games to preserve his redshirt. In 2022 he played in 12 games making five starts, where he tallied 30 tackles with three of which were for a loss, and two sacks. In 2023, Harmon posted 40 tackles with three and a half being for a loss, a sack and a half, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble. After the season, he entered his name into the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

. However, he withdrew his name a month later.

Oregon

On May3, 2024, Harmon transferred to the

. He started all 14 games that season, and was named to the second-team All-Big Ten team by the media and received second-team

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All-American honors.

Professional career

On January 6, 2025, Harmon declared for the

. During the

, Harmon was selected by the

with the 21st overall pick.

Personal life

Harmon's mother, Tiffany Saine, suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

during his freshman year at Michigan State. She was on life support when Harmon was drafted by the Steelers, and died shortly after he came to the hospital to tell her about his selection.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers profileOregon Ducks profileMichigan State Spartans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Derrick 2003 births Living people Players of American football from Detroit American football defensive tackles Michigan State Spartans football players Oregon Ducks football players Pittsburgh Steelers players