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On Friday night, former Alabama safety Landon Collins' dream was realized, as the New York Giants traded up to select him with the No. 33 pick in the NFL draft.

Collins was in Chicago for the big announcement, surrounded by family, including his mother, April Justin. Just days earlier, Collins wasn't even sure his mom would attend the draft.

The two have been a bit estranged of late, and the draft wouldn't have been the first high-profile mother/son public disagreement. Justin became a national storyline, when she reacted with disgust that Collins picked Alabama over LSU on live TV.

Earlier this week, Justin told Bleacher Report, "Landon and I are cordial, but we're not where we were because we haven't sat down and had a conversation about this process. He knows I'm pissed about who runs with him in his circle, so he's avoiding me."

"I'm proud of Landon," she continued. "When he walks across the stage to get his degree, I'll definitely be there. This is a football thing, though. When he gets drafted I'll probably be on a Florida beach looking at a different tide."

In the end, Justin booked a flight to Chicago after her son Gerald lured her with promises of a draft week spa event. "My younger son actually called me and was like, 'Mom, they're gonna have all your pampering. You need to come.' So, I was like, 'OK, I'll come.'"

Justin got her nails and make-up done at the CoverGirl Salon Thursday afternoon while Collins was getting his beard touched up at the pop-up Gillette Lounge one room over. Though the two were just a few steps away physically, conversations with them revealed a bit of distance.

Of course, tension between the two is nothing new. Her reaction in 2012 went viral, with blogs and TV channels everywhere picking up the video of her shaking her head and saying "LSU Tigers, No. 1. Go Tigers," while her son put on his Alabama gloves.

Years later, despite Collins' success in Tuscaloosa, she stands by that opinion. "The reason why is not because of the playing factor," Justin said Thursday afternoon from the salon. "If he went to LSU, he would've done what he did at Alabama. Wherever he went, Landon was going to be outstanding, 'cause that's who he is. I look at life after football and if you look at that, between Alabama and LSU, success for football players is just phenomenal with LSU. Landon's football career will end one day, and I need him to still be successful. LSU has put out a lot of successful football players."
Justin was hoping Collins would go to the Dolphins, and even had the location picked out for her season tickets if Miami had selected him. She joked about stashing a Dolphins hat to bring to the draft, but said Collins had actually already warned her not to make draft weekend a replay of 2012.

"I don't need that to be done all over again," said Collins. "This is a different moment, different time. She already had that moment. Now everybody that I talk to says, 'Hey, are you that person with that mom that went off?' I don't wanna hear that when I'm playing football."