Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston has lived out his NFL dreams, and is coming off his best game as a pro so far this past Sunday night.
But his biggest accomplishment came far before he took his first NFL snap.
Johnston sat down with "The Today Show" recently to detail the special night when he was drafted.
It was a night of a ton of emotions, as Johnston celebrated being selected No. 21 overall in this year's draft with those whose support helped him get to that point.
"I was just happy for myself, my family and my friends because I had a lot of people there with me," Johnston told The Today Show of the night he was drafted.
And as the celebration continued, Johnston then put the spotlight on his mother, Sherry, as he was able to make his mother's retirement dreams come true.
"Long story short, I told her that she could retire," Johnston said. "This is the moment that I've been waiting for all my life, that she went through so much and made so many sacrifices for."
It was a moment Johnston had been waiting for, and he didn't hesitate to say the main thing on his mind.
"Thank you," Johnston said. "Something I tell her day in and day out because I wouldn't be here where I am today."
But what Johnston didn't know is that he would have an opportunity to tell that to his mother face to face, as she surprised Johnston in the interview room in a heartwarming moment.
"What's going on? I didn't know y'all were going to do all this," a surprised Johnston said with a laugh.
"Well thank you, let me say it to your face," Johnston told his mother. "I appreciate you for everything that you've done for me."
His mother remembered the moment when Johnston surprised her with the news, something that took a bit of back and forth.
"I was shocked, I was scared, I was nervous, I was happy, all of that stuff," Sherry Johnston said.
She later added: "I fought him for a minute because I really was not ready to retire."
But in the end, she did in fact retire back in June, as Johnston made one of the best moments of his life even better by recognizing his mom for all she has done for him with something he's wanted to do his entire life.
Now, his mother gets to watch Johnston live out his dreams in the powder blues.
"It was crazy," Sherry Johnston said about watching Johnston play with the Chargers for the first time. "All of a sudden, they played that [NFL music], you know that football thing.
She added: "And I looked down and I said, my baby is in the NFL."
To watch the full feature, click here.
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