Chris Salvi

Salvi grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois, and is one of five boys in the family.[1][2][3] He attended Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois, where he was a two-year starter and two-year letterman.[4][5][6] He started at cornerback his junior year and at safety his senior year.[4][7][8] 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.[7][5] He was named to both the Lake County All-Area team and the All-East Suburban Catholic Conference team as a senior.[7][5][9] He was also a team captain at Carmel Catholic.[5][7]

He graduated from Carmel Catholic in 2008.[10][4][11] He did not receive any FBS scholarship offers out of high school.[12]

Salvi played in 11 games for the Butler Bulldogs of Butler University in 2008 and accumulated four tackles.[5] He played safety at Butler.[13][14]

He then transferred to the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 2009 to 2012.[5] Salvi joined Notre Dame as a walk-on but earned a scholarship his final season in 2012.[15][2] He was a safety at Notre Dame and primarily played special teams.[16][5][2]

He had to sit out the 2009 season due to NCAA transfer rules.[2][5][17] He appeared in nine games in 2010 and recorded two total tackles. He played in 13 games in 2011 and made 10 total tackles.[5] During the 2011 Michigan State game, he made a block that took out two opposing players and helped teammate George Atkinson return a kickoff for a touchdown.[2][15][12] He was named a co-captain for the game against Navy on October 29, 2011.[14][5] 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 on January 7, 2013.[5] On November 13, 2012, he was named one of 50 nominees for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is given to the "most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on."[18] 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.[5] Salvi participated in the annual Notre Dame Bengal Bouts charity tournament in 2012 and won the 188-pound division.[14][19]

Salvi played in 35 career games for the Irish and recorded 18 total tackles.[5] He graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in political science.[20]

After going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft, Salvi attended rookie minicamp with the Chicago Bears in May 2013 but was not signed.[3][22][23] He played for the Torino Giaguari of the Italian Football League first division in 2014.[24][25][26] He did not play in 2015 as he had accepted a job offer.[24][27][25] However, he later left the job and became an assistant coach at the University of Chicago.[27][20] He returned to play for the Giaguari in 2016.[27][25][24] He played safety during his time with the Giaguari.[26][27]

Salvi was specials teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Illinois in 2013.[20] He was defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at St. Ignatius in 2014.[20][28] He was an offensive and special teams assistant for the Chicago Maroons of the University of Chicago in 2015.[20][29] He became a defensive graduate assistant for the Connecticut Huskies of the University of Connecticut in 2016.[25][30]

Salvi's father, Patrick, is a lawyer.[1] His uncle, Al, is an attorney.[31] His brother, Will, was also on the Irish football team in 2012.[5][32] Salvi grew up a Notre Dame fan.[33][32][34]