Joe Gaiter: What does football mean to you?
Christian Saulsberry: Football is a get away place for me. Everything that is bothering me or stressing me out seems to go away when it comes to football. Football is a place of peace for me.
Joe Gaiter: Where did you grow up and how was your
childhood?
Christian Saulsberry: I grew up in Southaven, Ms right near Memphis, Tn where I was born and my childhood was good. It was filled with competitive sports. My parents did their best to give my sisters and I the best life they could.
Joe Gaiter: When did you know you loved the game of
football?
Christian Saulsberry: I don’t think I ever realized that I loved football. It was like a natural love just like a natural love for your parents. I always kind of knew I would play football just never thought I would make it this far.
Joe Gaiter: Why West Alabama?
Christian Saulsberry: Before choosing West Alabama. I was a D1 athlete out of high school and had offers from the military service academy schools, I had schools like Yale, Princeton, and Harvard, then I had schools like UAB and walk on spots. I decided the Junior College route because I felt like if scouts could see me play at that level I would be able to do it at the BIG D1 schools. It didn’t happen like that. I had West Alabama after it was over and a few other small schools but I chose West Alabama because it’s like the biggest family you never had. They truly care about you and your future. They give you all the tools to succeed. What really brought me in was the coaching staff and their desire to win but also to teach us about life beyond football.
Joe Gaiter: What is your untold story?
Christian Saulsberry: My untold story is that I was originally a baseball player and that people pushed me to be a baseball player more than football because you didn’t have to be a certain height to play that game. I started playing baseball when I was 3 and finished my career in high school of my senior year. I knew that I wanted to play football because I still had limitations set on me in that game more than baseball.
Joe Gaiter: Your pure athleticism is very evident just watching you. How do you remain humble?
Christian Saulsberry: The athleticism that people see on Saturdays was earned. There are things that I had to learn and critique to keep playing the game at a high level so remaining humble is not hard at all. The man upstairs has blessed me so much with all that I have been through in this game that thanking him has been normal for a long time.
Joe Gaiter: Is it hard being a student athlete?
Christian Saulsberry: I’m not gonna say it’s hard being a student athlete. I would say it’s more challenging than anything. Athletes don’t get the normal time as a regular student. We have to juggle around classes, lifts, film, practices, and meetings and ours days sometimes don’t end till like 7 P.M. So it’s not hard, I’d say it’s like being a parent. The student part is the job you get up for everyday and the athlete part is taking care of the family.
Joe Gaiter: What is in your mind during a kick return?
Christian Saulsberry: During a kick return, the thing that goes through my head is change the game. Special teams can win or lose you a game. You can have a shootout with any team in the country on the offensive or defensive side of the ball but if you don’t win the special teams side, all that work is for nothing.
Joe Gaiter: What makes a great wide receiver?
Christian Saulsberry: What’s makes a great receiver is trusting the coaching points and doing the fundamental things great because talent can only get you so far in this game and that’s when the technique part and fundamentals of the game come in.
Joe Gaiter: What motivates you on the field?
Christian Saulsberry: I think what motivates me on the field are the limitations people have put on me. I’ve worked just as hard as anyone in this game that is way bigger than me. Critics are always gonna have something to say good or bad. It’s how you responded those comments.
Joe Gaiter: You were named Special Team’s player of the week this year. How does it feel to know your work isn’t going unnoticed?
Christian Saulsberry: It feels good to see that hard work is paying off and that is getting noticed but I have bigger goals that I want to accomplish.
Joe Gaiter: What can we expect from you going into your senior season?
Christian Saulsberry: 1484 All-Purpose yards 4 touchdowns, and all I have to show for it is First Team ALL GSC. That’s obviously not enough and I’m coming for more because I want to be better than what I was the year before.
Joe Gaiter: What have you learned from the departing seniors?
Christian Saulsberry: I learned how to be the big brother of the team and take in underclassmen and show them the right way to be a great athlete early to set their self-up for success.
Joe Gaiter: How and where will you train to elevate your game next year?
Christian Saulsberry: I can’t say his name but he has 2 Children in the NFL but Louisiana is where I’ll be. He has a program called Elite Speed Training, he is a 3x All-American Hurdler, and an inductee into the LSU HALL OF FAME.
Joe Gaiter: Do you have any regrets in your college football career?
Christian Saulsberry: I don’t have a single regret in this game. Everything that has happened up to this point happened for a reason and has put me where I’m supposed to be.
Joe Gaiter: Have you had to deal with any heartache?
How did you handle it?
Christian Saulsberry: I’ve had to deal with my grandfather dying when I was 8. I really didn’t know if I wanted to play football anymore because as a kid he was one of the ones I always wanted at a game. I remember in a city league football game when I was about 7-9 years old as I was running a touchdown down the right sideline. I saw him in the back of the end zone watching me come to him and to be honest it’s still probably one of the greatest moments of my athletic career if not the best. After he died I wanted to call it quits because I felt like I had no desire to play anymore because he was the rock of our family but I knew he wouldn’t want me to do that because even though he’s not there physically he’s there spiritually and we talk daily.
Joe Gaiter: Final Words/Shoutouts?
Christian Saulsberry: My final words and thoughts are thank you to my family, my coaches (previous and current) and support system. Y’all have motivated me far beyond than I can sometimes. Big thanks to God and what he has done because he’s still molding me into the man I’m supposed to be.
Twitter: Saulsberry2Era
Instagram: christian_saulsberry2
