Christian Saulsberry

Saulsberry was born December 12, 1997, in Southaven, Mississippi.[1] He attended Southaven High School during his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to Northpoint Christian School as a junior. He played baseball and football;[2] he was a defensive back and running back in football.[3] As a senior Saulsberry was a team captain[4] and ran for 1,390 yards, scoring 19 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns; he led his team to 13 consecutive wins and the state championship where they lost 50–20.[2][5] He received many honors for his senior performance, including selection to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, first-team all-state, all-district, and TSSAA Division II Offensive Player of the Year among others.[2] Saulsberry played for two years at Northpoint Christian with 2,606 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns.[5]

Saulsberry was a two-star recruit and joined Itawamba Community College in 2016 after graduating from Northpoint Christian.[2] He played two seasons there, recording 55 catches for 658 yards and two touchdowns, being named MACJC first-team all-state in 2017.[6] After graduating from Itawamba CC, Saulsberry joined Division II West Alabama for his final two seasons.[2] He was named All-Gulf South Conference (GSC) as a junior after compiling 52 catches for 644 yards and four scores while also recording 29 kick returns for 838 yards and one touchdown, totaling a team-leading 1,484 all-purpose yards.[2] As a senior, he again received the honor after posting 580 receiving yards and three touchdowns, with an additional 614 return yards for 1,223 total yards.[2] Saulsberry ended his time at West Alabama with 1,224 receiving yards and seven touchdowns while appearing in 23 games.[7]

Saulsberry was eligible for the 2020 NFL Draft[8] but was not selected.[9] After not being on any team in the 2020 season, he was selected with the top pick by the Beasts in the Fan Controlled Football (FCF) draft.[10][11] He was one of the players they franchise tagged.[12] He scored a touchdown in the Beasts' game against the Zappers.[13]

In May 2022, Saulsberry was signed by the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[14] In two preseason games, he recorded six kick returns for 172 yards, four rushes for nine yards and two catches for 18 yards.[15] Although released following training camp, he was re-signed to the practice roster in August.[15] He made his debut against the Ottawa Redblacks on August 27,[16][17] eventually became the team's main return specialist, and by October was one of the top five players in the league for punt return average with 11.6 yards per return.[18]

In a game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Saulsberry recorded 175 kick return yards, the tenth most in a single game in team history, and with an additional 30 punt return yards became the first Edmonton player in nearly a decade with over 200 return yards in one game.[17] By his sixth game, despite missing a large chunk of the season, he was ranked seventh in the league in kick return yards and tenth in punt return yards.[17] He also averaged 85.7 kick return yards-per-game by that time by leading all of the CFL.[17] Saulsberry finished the season having appeared in eight games, and recorded 948 total return yards, one reception for 17 yards, and one rush for seven yards.[19] His longest return was 51 yards on a missed field goal return.[19] He was named the Elks' most outstanding special teams player for the 2022 season.[20][21]

Saulsberry was shot at a party in Walls, Mississippi which is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, on December 17, 2022, five days after his 25th birthday.[22][23][24] He died while en route to the hospital.[5][25] The alleged shooter was arrested later that day.[24]