For Vols, Saulsberry gave all
Back in August, still too early in camp for the typical soreness to have even developed, Trevarris Saulsberry’s body surrendered.
Multiple surgeries. Literally too many hours to track in rehabilitation. Besieged by injuries, Saulsberry’s on-field career at Tennessee ended less than 48 hours into his final pre-season camp.
His commitment to the team and program, however, never wavered.
“The second day of camp, when I started running and I went to run I just got this jolting pain through my leg and I was like, ‘I can’t walk, I can’t run,’” said the Gainesville, Fla., native. “I literally had to sit down where I was at on the practice field and I was just like, ‘I have to stop. This is not healthy for me. I’m getting nowhere. I have to call it quits.’”
A 6-foot-4, 308-pound tackle who had displayed signs of being a consistent interior defender before injuries halted his 2014 campaign, Saulsberry never considered a path that didn’t include helping the SEC program that welcomed him in after his hometown school never did.
“I think that’s just how I was wired. I mean if I’m going to do it I might as well go balls to the wall until I just can’t do it anymore,” Saulsberry told VolQuest.com. “For me, I couldn’t live with just giving up on football. That’s what was driving me to do what I did but then you realize there’s also life after football. …
“They [younger players] need knowledge just as much as I needed knowledge, and I have knowledge that they don’t so I might as well share it with them, help them out and give them some quick pointers here and there that could help them out in the game. I’m all about them. I want them to succeed just as much as I wanted myself to succeed. If I invest my time in them and see that they’re doing good, I feel good about myself.”
Count Kahlil McKenzie and Darrell Taylor among the Vols’ first-year players who told VolQuest.com that Saulsberry helped usher them through their first years of college. But for Saulsberry, seeing the overall health of the Tennessee program evolve has been even more gratifying than just the team’s rebuilt defensive line.
“It’s a good feeling to see that it’s back to where it needs to be,” he said. “There’s been some rough times here as we both know. There’s been some ups, been some downs. But for the team to be doing the way we’re doing right now, I feel like we can’t do anything but go up. We’re doing good right now and everybody is bonded. We are a team. This is probably the best team I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here, as far as family-wise. Everybody is close together. There’s no animosity. There’s nobody sitting in the corner pouting. I feel like this team, this university is on the rise and good things are coming for here.
“Leadership, us seniors, Coach (Butch) Jones, everybody really. Everybody has to take part in everybody coming together. I feel like it was just a team thing where everybody was like, ‘We’re not going to go far if everybody isn’t together,’ and that’s what we did.”
With 13 career games but none in his final season, Saulsberry still played a role in the Tennessee program’s forward progress. But with five-month-old son Aiden to also think about, Saulsberry reluctantly let go of playing football.
Now, it’s time for a new chapter in life.
“I really try not to think about it. I’m here for the young guys. It’s not about me,” Saulsberry said of the end. “I put them before myself. It’s an honor to be a part of this squad. Coach Jones has me on the team to help the young guys and I’m just doing what I can do.
“[Student-coaching] could possibly come up. I don’t have any set plans. My mind is everywhere. It’s hitting me hard. This is reality; the real world is coming and it’s coming fast, but I feel like being in this program kind of sets you up to know how to deal with certain situations. I feel like I’ll be all right after this.”
No question. There might be a limp in that reconstructed knee, but as Saulsberry displayed, there isn’t any quit.