Chris Salvi (born June 22, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

and Notre Dame.

Early years

Salvi grew up in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

, and is one of five boys in the family. He attended Carmel Catholic High School in

Mundelein, Illinois Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States and a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 31,560. It is approximately thirty-five miles northwest of Chicago. History The community now known as M ...

, where he was a two-year starter and two-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

. He started at

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

his junior year and at safety his senior year. The team advanced to the Illinois 7A state semifinals and finished with a 10–3 record his senior year in 2007 as Salvi recorded 107 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 fumbles recovered, 1 sack and 1 touchdown on a blocked punt. He was named to both the Lake County All-Area team and the All-

East Suburban Catholic Conference The East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC) is an athletic conference consisting of 9 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois (though despite its name, two schools are located in the city itself). The conference became indepe ...

team as a senior. He was also a team captain at Carmel Catholic. He graduated from Carmel Catholic in 2008. He did not receive any FBS scholarship offers out of high school.

College career

Salvi played in 11 games for the

Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 season, ...

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

in 2008 and accumulated four tackles. He played safety at Butler. He then transferred to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, where he was a member of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate College football, football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana (CDP), Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team pla ...

from 2009 to 2012. Salvi joined Notre Dame as a

walk-on Walk On may refer to: Music * ''Walk On'', a 1994 album by Boston, and its title song Albums * ''Walk On'' (Boston album), 1994 * ''Walk On'' (John Hiatt album), 1995 * ''Walk On'' (Randy Johnston album), 1992 *''Walk On'', a 2007 album by ...

but earned a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

his final season in 2012. He was a safety at Notre Dame and primarily played

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He had to sit out the 2009 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He appeared in nine games in 2010 and recorded two total tackles. He played in 13 games in 2011 and made 10 total tackles. During the 2011

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

game, he made a block that took out two opposing players and helped teammate George Atkinson return a kickoff for a touchdown. He was named a co-captain for the game against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

on October 29, 2011. Salvi played in 13 games during the 2012 season and recorded six total tackles, including an assisted tackle in the

2013 BCS National Championship Game The 2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game that took place on Monday, January 7, 2013, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. It featured the No. 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No ...

on January 7, 2013. On November 13, 2012, he was named one of 50 nominees for the

Burlsworth Trophy The Burlsworth Trophy is an award given annually to the most outstanding FBS college football player who began his career as a walk-on. It was first awarded for the 2010 season and is a program of the Brandon Burlsworth Foundation. Burlsworth wa ...

, which is given to the "most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on." His brother, Will, was also on the Irish football team in 2012. They were one of four sets of brothers on the team that year. Salvi participated in the annual Notre Dame

Bengal Bouts The Bengal Bouts is an annual charity boxing tournament hosted by the Men's Boxing Club at the University of Notre Dame airing on ESPN, with proceeds benefiting the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the Peopl ...

charity tournament in 2012 and won the 188-pound division. Salvi played in 35 career games for the Irish and recorded 18 total tackles. He graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

, Salvi attended rookie minicamp with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in May 2013 but was not signed. He played for the Torino Giaguari of the

Italian Football League Italian Football League (IFL) is the top level American football league in Italy established in 1980. History In the 1970's teams formed and played in Italy. In 1980 the first official American football league in Italy was established and crow ...

first division in 2014. He did not play in 2015 as he had accepted a job offer. However, he later left the job and became an assistant coach at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He returned to play for the Giaguari in 2016. He played safety during his time with the Giaguari.

Coaching career

Salvi was specials teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at St. Ignatius College Prep in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 2013. He was defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at St. Ignatius in 2014. He was an offensive and special teams assistant for the

Chicago Maroons The Chicago Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon. Team colors are maroon and gray, and the Phoenix is their mascot. They now compete in the NCAA Division III, mostly as ...

of the University of Chicago in 2015. He became a defensive graduate assistant for the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

of the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

in 2016.

Personal life

Salvi's father, Patrick, is a lawyer. His uncle, Al, is an attorney. His brother, Will, was also on the Irish football team in 2012. Salvi grew up a Notre Dame fan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvi, Chris Living people 1989 births American football safeties Butler Bulldogs football players Chicago Maroons football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players UConn Huskies football coaches High school football coaches in Illinois Sportspeople from Lake Forest, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American expatriate sportspeople in Italy