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Only time will tell if Eli Apple, the Giants' first-round pick in last week's draft, develops into a top-flight NFL cornerback. But whatever fortunes await him professionally, we can be sure of one thing: Thanks to his mother, he will remain grounded. To hear Annie Apple talk -- or tweet -- she remains focused on protecting her son, both from himself and those looking to take advantage of a 20-year-old who is suddenly rich and famous.

Here she is three days after the Giants took Apple with the 10th overall pick.

And here's Annie talking about how she distracted herself from all the mock-draft hysteria by focusing on how Eli would present himself at the actual draft, where he would walk the red carpet before settling into the green room ahead of the NFL's biggest offseason spectacle.

"I turned my attention to how Eli would look on draft day and for his first team press conference," she wrote in a piece for SI.com. "For the draft, I wanted to go with a more classic look and no one does classic better than Tom Ford. A friend of ours who happens to be a gifted tailor gave us the looks, and I chose a classic black suit for the draft and a blue suit for his team press conference. It was kind of weird that I agreed to a blue suit when Eli's projected teams were Miami, Pittsburgh and Oakland, but I wanted to keep it classic and clean.

"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."

Last month, the NFL announced that it would be replacing the annual rookie symposium with a rookie transition program. Whatever they call it, Annie Apple should be a featured speaker.

Eli Apple did not wear a Rolex to the draft. (USATSI)
Eli Apple did not wear a Rolex to the draft. (USATSI)