When the New York Giants selected former Ohio State defensive back Eli Apple with the 10th pick in last week’s draft, little did the team know that it would be getting a rather awesome mother figure in the process.
Remember when an anonymous scout questioned Apple’s cooking prior to the draft? Well, his mom made sure to tell that dude off.
Now, a few days after seeing her son become a professional football player, Annie Apple just penned a piece on Sports Illustrated detailing the entire process for the masses.
It was an absolutely great read. Among the things mama Apple discussed was her son’s yearning to get all decked out for draft night itself in Chicago last Thursday.
She wasn’t having any of it:
“Eli was offered Rolex watches and diamonds to wear on draft day, I told him, ‘Dude, you’re an unemployed college dropout. You will not be on TV with a Rolex.’ So we decided if he needed to know what time it was, he could just look at his phone. I bought him a portable charger.”
Apple, a red-shirt sophomore when he declared for the NFL draft, left Ohio State after his junior year.
It’s good to see his mom keeping him honest in the face of a ton of pressure for him to act the part of a million-dollar professional.
She also had a pretty awesome comparison for the NFL draft experience itself:
“Being at the draft in person is a whole other experience. The love, the drama, the intensity, the suspense,” she wrote. “It’s a little like The Bachelor. You don’t want to be the person sent home having a tearfully awkward conversation in the backseat of a limo.”
It sure the heck looks like Apple has a strong supporting cast as he ventures into his new life as a NFL player. Let’s just hope he continues to take his mom’s advice. After all, she doesn’t seem afraid to tell him how it is, even publicly.