Tonopah, Nevada is known for two main things to University of Nevada, Reno students: a pit stop on the way to Las Vegas and the home of the infamous Clown Motel.

However, what most Nevada students don’t know is that this is also the hometown of former Wolf Pack running back and 2014 Nevada Hall of Fame inductee, Chance Kretschmer. Located nearly four hours south of the biggest little city, Tonopah, a town that is also known as a historic mining park, produced one of the biggest diamonds in the rough of Nevada football history. Kretschmer’s freshman campaign with the Wolf Pack is one of the most prolific in all of college football. However, after that freshman season, a cheap shot tackle, spotty cell phone service and a path back to Nevada would shape what his legacy has become.

The “Tonopah Tornado,” as he was called during his playing days while donning the red and black uniform of Tonopah High School, was a force at the Nevada Division IA level. Kretschmer starred in both football and basketball for the Muckers and led them to state titles in both sports. After a highly-successful prep career, Kretschmer was offered to walk-on at Nevada under then-head coach Chris Tormey. After red-shirting his freshman year, he had little expectations that he would make an impact other than special teams, but injuries to the other starting running backs thrust him into the line-up.

The rest is history.

Kretschmer burst onto the scene by leading the nation in rushing yards with 1,732 and became the first freshman to lead the country in that category since San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk did in 1991. However, his success was not sustained. Kretschmer tore his ACL after a cheap shot hit against BYU in his sophomore season and he was never able to emulate the same kind of success. While he did rush for 1,162 in his final year, his legacy at Nevada had already been cemented.

John Trent, the author of “Legacy: 100 Years of Athletics at the University of Nevada,” remembers Kretschmer’s emergence as remarkable to Reno fans, but those in Tonopah had known this from the start.

“His story was surprising for us city folks, but I think all along the people in his community knew Chance was pretty special and had more than enough talent to compete at a Division I level,” Trent said.

After his storied career at Nevada, Kretschmer only received one call from NFL teams. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, he was contacted by the St. Louis Rams, but due to terrible cell service at his family home of Round Mountain, Nevada, he did not return the call in time.

Oddly enough, if Kretschmer had answered that call he would have been practicing in the same backfield as Faulk during the twilight of the hall of famer’s career.

Kretschmer’s legacy was finally cemented when he was inducted into the Nevada Hall of Fame this year. His story could easily relate to anyone that has worked with a chip on their shoulder or someone that has been overlooked because of where they come from. His legacy is one of perseverance and, like Kretschmer himself, a diamond in the rough of Wolf Pack football history.

Chris Boline can be reached at cboline@sagebrush.unr.edu.