Northpoint community remembers life of Christian Saulsberry at vigil

In the two years Christian Saulsberry spent at Northpoint Christian School, the impact he had was often hard to put into words for the family members and friends that spoke at a a vigil Tuesday night, honoring him.

His smile was contagious; he loved everybody and as talented of a football player as he was, he was even more humble about it. That’s how many of the hundreds of people that attended Saulsberry’s vigil described him.

Saulsberry’s impact was so significant, Northpoint Christian head of school Jim Ferguson announced during the vigil, that Saulsberry's No. 2 football jersey would be retired at the first home football game next season.

“That just proves how much of an impact he made around here to everybody that he knows,” said Collin Tatko, Saulsberry’s childhood friend. “He was just genuine with everybody.”

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Saulsberry was tragically killed in a shooting in Walls, Mississippi on Friday night. He was 25.

Tatko grew up with Saulsberry and was a baseball teammate of his through middle school and football teammates when Saulsberry transferred from Southaven to Northpoint after his sophomore season.

Saulsberry and Tatko were like brothers. Tatko even said Saulsberry would look out for Tatko’s sister like she was his own sister.

That’s just who Saulsberry was.

“It’s the smile that he had, the attitude that he had,” Tatko said. “He didn’t act like he was better than anybody. … We planned this a day ago and all these people showed up. It’s difficult to explain.”

The visitor’s side of the gym was filled to capacity as friends and family honored Saulsberry’s life. From their favorite stories to brief interactions they had with Saulsberry, to some of the final moments they shared, it was an emotional night to remember him.

“The Northpoint family is hurting right now, his family is hurting right now,” said Saulsberry’s former coach Greg Wallace after hearing of his death Saturday. “There’s not a whole lot you can put into words for the feelings you’re having right now.”

Saulsberry went on to have a professional football career, signing a deal with the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League, following a standout rookie season this past season. As much as Saulsberry accomplished in his life, he gave even more back.

Almost everyone that spoke during the vigil mentioned how Saulsberry loved everybody. He’d give away his gloves to younger players and he frequently came back to Northpoint to help train the current players.

"He loved people more than anybody I’ve ever seen,” Tatko said. “... He had so much love in his heart for anybody that was around.”

Though his time with Northpoint was brief, his legacy will live on in Southaven. Along with his jersey being retired, another of his former Northpoint coaches, Chris Cascio, said there are plans to hopefully have a memorial at the football field under the scoreboard with Christian’s number and the phrase “Run, Chris, Run” because of his speed.

"There’s no doubt Chris will always live and be a part of this school,” Cascio said.

Reach Wynston Wilcox at wwilcox@gannett.com and on Twitter @wynstonw__.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Christian Saulsberry remembered at Northpoint vigil