Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 DECEMBER 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME BGI: Your brother is senior wide re- ceiver Matt Salerno. What has it been like suiting up with him on the same college football team? Salerno: "It's been great to walk on with my brother and enjoy play- ing sports with him. When we were younger, we obviously have three-year age difference so we never got to play many sports together. "But the first time running out of the tunnel was pretty special when you look next to you and see your brother, and you're both living out your dream to- gether. That's been a great time seeing him at practice." BGI: How did two brothers from Va- lencia, Calif., end up at Notre Dame? Salerno: "We grew up huge Notre Dame fans. We dreamed of playing foot- ball here. He got here, and as I was going through high school my number one goal was to get here, too. "He helped me out, told me who to talk to and kind of helped me with the admissions process as well." BGI: What's it been like having your older brother around on the same col- lege campus? Salerno: "I find it pretty funny be- cause I never see him on campus outside of football practice. We never tend to run into each other. But it's been great to have him around. I can always text him to ask him questions. "I usually go over to his apartment on weekends to hang out with him and watch football. That's been great. Notre Dame offers us a bunch of great support systems, but to have a family member here is really special and helpful." BGI: You played soccer and lacrosse in high school as well. Was there a chance you chose to pursue one of those passions instead? Salerno: "I always played soccer when I was younger and didn't pick up football and lacrosse until high school. I would not have been surprised had I ended up playing soccer somewhere. But as a I went through high school, I started to realize football was more where my passion was. "I didn't really push the recruiting process in the other sports. Football was going to be the sport I played in col- lege if I ended up playing a sport. Had I pushed harder in lacrosse or soccer, there might have been an opportunity if I was looking for it." BGI: How stressful was the process of trying to realize your dream by making it to Notre Dame and walking onto the football team as a kicker? Salerno: "When I first started playing football my freshman year of high school, I assumed I'd be playing receiver or even somewhere on defense. I started out as an outside linebacker. As I went through school, I started to realize I enjoyed kick- ing more and that's more what my pas- sion was. I continued to play receiver but kicked as well and focused on my kicking. "It took a long time to figure out where I was going. In my mind, I always figured I'd end up at Notre Dame. But it was defi- nitely a long process of waiting for admis- sions to get back to me. But once they did, I knew that's where I wanted to be." BGI: What was the moment like when you officially walked on and truly became a member of the Fighting Irish? Salerno: "That was really special. I signed the papers with my parents and my grandfather. Just the entire experi- ence of knowing I'd be here come the fall, I couldn't take the smile of my face for a week or so because I was so happy. "My dreams had finally come true." BGI: What are you studying, and what do you plan to do with your Notre Dame degree once you graduate? Salerno: "I'm studying business analytics and economics. Right now, I'm not too sure what I want to do in the future with that. I think that's the great part of Notre Dame; you take so many courses that you eventually find what you're looking for. "I'm probably leaning more toward doing something with business ana- lytics, but economics are a great tie in. They've offered me a great opportunity to double major which affords me the chance to take advantage of all the re- sources here at Notre Dame." BGI: What's been your favorite mo- ment at Notre Dame so far? Salerno: "The first time running out of the tunnel was very special. It's an amazing experience every time, but the first time was so unique because you don't know what to expect. I went to a small high school, so I never played in front of a large number of fans. Run- ning out in front of a full Notre Dame Stadium was pretty amazing. "I remember my grandfather telling me that you can run out of the tunnel 100 times, but it will never be the same as the first time you run out. I'm start- ing to agree with him more and more as I've played longer here." ✦ Salerno joined his older brother Matt as a walk‑on at Notre Dame this past year. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL W A L K - O N P L A Y E R S U N I O N WOPU WOPU SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT BY TYLER HORKA Q&A With Freshman Kicker/Punter Chris Salerno