Utah Tech University football running back Chris Street will continue the program’s tradition of honoring former player Abraham Reinhardt, who died in 2019, by wearing his No. 3 jersey.
Before his death in 2019, Reinhardt was recognized for his abilities, both on and off the field. Since his death, it has become a tradition for one player to be chosen to wear Reinhardt’s number that season.
Street, a senior applied sociology major from Eastvale, California, is the fifth player awarded the honor due to his accomplishments, both as a player and as a member of the community.
“I love Chris as a player on the field, but I’m really proud of the man that Chris is going to grow into… off the field,” Jamison Clark, Utah Tech football running back coach, said. “I think that’s what wearing No. 3 should represent.”
In his lone season at Utah Tech, Reinhardt also had a significant impact on the field. He led and co-led the Trailblazers in three defensive categories as a linebacker and was selected to the first team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
As Street enters his second season at Utah Tech, he will work to honor Reinhardt’s legacy through his play and mentality.
Last season, Street played all 11 games and was second on the Trailblazers in carries, yards and rushing touchdowns.
“It comes down to pure will and determination,” Street said. “I have to have the will to be great and have the will to go to practice every day and go my hardest. Especially just to bring the team along with me, we all have to collectively buy in and have a strong will and be determined to go forward in a positive manner.”
In addition to his contributions on the field, Reinhardt was known as a leader on the team and an exemplary person. Street feels a personal responsibility to carry on his reputation through his leadership on the field and his conduct in the community.
“I feel like it just goes hand in hand to my everyday life,” Street said. “I always feel that pressure to be a good person in the community and to be a good person in general.”
Street’s leadership played a huge reason as to why he was chosen to carry on this tradition.
“Chris has a lot of the same characteristics that Abe had such as hard work, toughness, trust and accountability,” Lance Anderson, Utah Tech head football, said. “And you definitely see those things in Chris Street. Also, a big part of that three jersey, is the leadership ability that Abe displayed. Chris is very much a leader on the team as well. He’s on our leadership council and he’s been elected to captain each of the first two weeks this season. The team definitely looks to Chris as a leader and he is definitely a positive role model.”
As Utah Tech changed their coaching staff this season, it has allowed new coaches to learn about Reinhardt’s legacy and the tradition of the No. 3 jersey. Anderson slowly began to learn about Reinhardt’s importance to the university as well as the tradition of passing on his jersey number.
“When I first got here, I saw the jersey outside of our locker room and really didn’t know what it meant,” Anderson said. “I was told initially that we set that jersey aside and we will award it to someone. Later on, I heard about Abe and his story and was touched, especially as I started to learn more about him, his character, his leadership abilities and it really struck a chord with me and I felt that it was a priority that we continue to embrace this.”
While Utah Tech’s football team has undergone many changes, such as the move to Division I, the commitment to honor Reinhardt’s legacy will not. Although it’s been several years since Reinhardt’s death, his impression on the Utah Tech football community still remains. Street learned this himself through the reception he received when given the opportunity to wear Reinhardt’s jersey number.
“The reception‘s been really positive, especially after the media went out about it,” Street said. “A lot of his former teachers or friends were messaging me to tell me that he was a great man and to represent this well.”
As Reinhardt’s legacy continues to live on through a school name change, different coaching staffs and players, Anderson wants to make sure the importance of jersey No. 3 lives on.
He said, “We want to make it mean something to our guys to wear that three jersey and I think it does already and we are going to continue to embrace that tradition.”
