Ernestine Highsmith, his grandmother, was going to bed in Wilson, North Carolina, which was only two hours away to the north. Furthermore, is it really unreasonable to hold a 92-year-old grandma accountable for nodding out shortly before midnight?

Highsmith had conversations with the Steelers and the Eagles, two clubs in need of an edge rusher, in the weeks preceding the draft. Highsmith thought it had to be one of the two on the line because those two teams were selected in the third round back-to-back, but he wasn’t sure which NFL city was closer to Cranberry.

At that point, Highsmith heard coach Mike Tomlin’s voice over the speaker, informing him that the Steelers would pick the Charlotte graduate with the 38th pick in the third round (102 overall).

His father, Sam Highsmith, stated, “I watched him put his face in his hands, thanking Tomlin and starting to cry.” Then it actually happened. My son is going to play in the NFL. Oh, my god.