It’s been five years since Abraham Reinhardt died after a football practice in St. George.
The Utah Tech Trailblazers have honored Reinhardt’s memory each year since.
Junior running back Christ Street was awarded the team’s No. 3 jersey for the upcoming season, becoming the fourth player to wear the number since Reinhardt’s death in March 2019.
“Once I heard the story about Abe Reinhardt, the kind of person he was, the kind of football player he was, and his tragic passing, I was very touched and felt like this is something we need to continue,” first-year head coach Lance Anderson said in a news release. “I felt it was very important that our team understands who he was and what this jersey truly represents.
(Utah Tech) Junior running back Chris Street has been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the Trailblazers' 2024 football season. The number honors former player Abraham Reinhardt, who died after being injured in a practice in March 2019.
“I have been impressed by Chris since I got here,” Anderson added. “His outgoing personality, his positive outlook, and I really feel like he also represents all the other traits that we talked about what this jersey represents. Toughness, hard work, accountability, trust, leadership — Chris demonstrates all those qualities, and I think he’ll do a great job wearing that jersey and representing Abe.”
Street, who transferred to Utah Tech from Cal, was second on the team with 64 carries, 410 rushing yards and two touchdowns last season.
“This is a big honor, there are a lot of qualities involved in being picked for this number,” Street said. “I appreciate the coaches and the staff for believing in me to be a representation of Abe, those are big shoes to fill.”
Reinhardt led the team in tackles and earned All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honors during his lone season in St. George. During a spring practice in 2019, Reinhardt suffered a minor leg injury, which was treated with ice on the sideline. His family said a condition called Hyponatremia, extremely low blood sodium, later caused severe muscle spasms that led to seizures and brain swelling. He died at a hospital on March 22, 2019.
BYU’s preseason test
New BYU basketball coach Kevin Young will get a firsthand look at last year’s top two teams when the Cougars join defending champs Purdue, runners-up North Carolina State, and the Ole Miss Rebels in a four-team preseason tournament in November.
The Cougars will face off against Ole Miss in the opening round of the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thanksgiving Day in San Diego.
The Boilermakers and Wolfpack will meet in a rematch of last season’s title game.
On Nov. 29, the tournament’s third-place game will tip off at 12:30 p.m. PT with a championship game at 3 p.m. local time. The games will be televised on Fox.
Utah volleyball
The Utes open their season with the annual Utah Classic on Friday at the Huntsman Center.
Utah will host UTEP at 7 p.m.
On the second day of the event, the Utes will take on Utah State at 5 p.m. The weekend action will wrap up Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. match against Green Bay.
Preseason NIT
Utah State men’s basketball will get a preseason test in Orlando where first-year coach Jerrod Calhoun and the Aggies will play in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Aggies will play St. Bonaventure on Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. MT (ESPN2).
The winner of that game will play the winner of Northern Iowa-North Texas the next day at 4:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2. The losers of the first-round games will meet in the third-place game on Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. MT (ESPNU).