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Why Vanderbilt’s top RB, an AISD rushing legend, has had ‘Horns down’ all his life

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Why Vanderbilt’s top RB, an AISD rushing legend, has had ‘Horns down’ all his life


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In some ways, this weekend’s home game against Texas football is a dream come true for Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander.

A sophomore, Alexander is an Austinite and the city’s all-time leading rusher. But this isn’t a story about a kid getting to play the hometown team he once rooted for. Nor is this the tale of a local talent with an axe to grind against the school that never extended a scholarship offer.

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No, Alexander was raised as an Oklahoma fan. His father cheered for the Sooners, and thus the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. He has long worn the No. 28 as a tribute to Adrian Peterson.

“I always had horns down,” Alexander said this week. “I want to beat them. I always want to beat Texas, even when I was rooting for OU. … I want to beat them and say that I beat them.”

Vanderbilt is resurging ahead of Texas matchup

Not too long ago, a Vanderbilt player talking about beating No. 6 Texas would have sounded preposterous. But these aren’t the Commodores of yesteryear.

Despite being picked to finish last in the Southeastern Conference’s preseason poll and winning just 12 games over the past five seasons, Vanderbilt is 5-2 this year. The Commodores upset then-No. 2 Alabama at home Oct. 5, and they’ve taken a top-10 team in Missouri to double overtime. The No. 25 team in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and Associated Press poll, Vanderbilt is ranked for the first time since the 2013 season.

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With one more victory, Vanderbilt will qualify for its first bowl game since 2018. Alexander was an eighth-grader at Pflugerville’s Kelly Lane Middle School when the Commodores reached that year’s Texas Bowl.

But if you ask Alexander, he saw this success coming when he signed with Vanderbilt during the 2023 recruiting cycle. While starring at LBJ High, Alexander was rated as a three-star prospect. He received offers from Texas State and UTSA but wanted to experience life outside of Central Texas. Iowa State and the service academies were interested, but Vanderbilt presented an opportunity to play in the SEC. The educational experience at Vanderbilt was also something that Alexander said he did not want to pass up.

Additionally, Alexander believed in Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea. A former Vanderbilt fullback, Lea was hired away from his position as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator after the 2020 season.

“I came here for stuff like this to happen,” Alexander said. “I believe in coach Lea and his vision and what he asks of this team, and I’m just excited to be here with him and enjoy the moment while I’m here.”

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Alexander’s future, and present, at Vanderbilt appears to be bright

As for what is working at Vanderbilt this season, Alexander credits the preparation done during the week in meetings and practices. Having an offense that leads the SEC in time of possession and has turned over the football just twice this season also helps. Vanderbilt has been led offensively by quarterback Diego Pavia, a graduate transfer from New Mexico State, and Alexander has proven to be a suitable sidekick.

The 5-foot-9, 200-pound Alexander, who celebrates his 20th birthday Friday, has rushed 95 times for 380 yards. He’s also caught 13 passes. Two of his team-high six touchdowns were scored in Vanderbilt’s 40-35 win over Alabama, and Alexander collided with Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell on one of those scores, bullying the 244-pound linebacker into the end zone.

“He’s kind of been a bright spot for us in just how he conducts his business,” Lea said. “The person he is first is where I’d focus. He’s got a great family, got a great spirit. Like all young people, he’s growing into himself.

“We are really excited about his skill set. I think a lot of that has surfaced this year. He’s added physical components to his game that I think make him a really well-rounded back. It’s just his second year, so there’s so many great things ahead for him and we’re glad he’s here.”

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A UT defense that ranks 18th nationally against the run at 104.3 yards per game has taken note of Alexander. Steve Sarkisian, the Longhorns’ fourth-year coach, described Alexander this week as a “heck of a running back.” Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron said that “he’s a tough cat.”

“Game recognizes game,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “When you’re a good Austin guy, it’s cool because not a lot of talent comes out of Austin as far as recruiting. I know there’s a lot of talent in Austin, but we don’t always get the recognition that we deserve.”

Alexander joins Texas trio among college football’s Austin-area standouts

Alexander, who was listed as “questionable” with an undisclosed injury on Vanderbilt’s first availability report of the week, has a personal relationship with several Longhorns who also grew up in the Austin area. He has trained with Taaffe, who attended Westlake. Barron, who went to Pflugerville Connally, said that he shared some BBQ and trash talk with Alexander’s father before the season started.

Alexander was also high school teammates with UT safety Andrew Mukuba, who has a “questionable” designation for this weekend’s game because of a knee injury. Texas director of high school relations Jahmal Fenner coached both players at LBJ. While at LBJ, Alexander set the Austin ISD career rushing record and led the Jaguars to the Class 4A, Division I championship game in 2021.

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Alexander is now among those representing the Austin-area football scene on the stage that is college football. Barron, Mukuba and Taaffe all start for Texas, and Barron and Mukuba are responsible for half of UT’s 10 interceptions. Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks leads the Big 12 with his 134.0 rushing yards per game while fellow Manor product Quinten Joyner is averaging 9.1 yards per carry at USC. Westlake’s alumni association also includes the quarterback with the second-most touchdown passes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (Clemson’s Cade Klubnik) and Notre Dame’s second-leading receiver (Jaden Greathouse).

“I’m looking at film each and every day, and I’m like, dang, there’s really three people (in the Texas secondary),” Alexander said. “To see everybody that’s spread out throughout the country at different universities just representing the 512, that is something that I look forward to the rest of my years and with the younger generation.”



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Austin, TX

Trump's executive orders, Texas school choice: TWITP

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Trump's executive orders, Texas school choice: TWITP


This Week in Texas Politics included the start of a new state and federal team that went beyond immigration. There was also movement under the capitol dome on school choice legislation, one of the hottest topics this session. 

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A longer discussion can be found on the FOX 7 YouTube page and on FOX LOCAL

Texas headlines

What they’re saying:

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RUDY KOSKI: Strokes from a presidential pen and a pen from the governor, as well as a beefed-up repackaged school choice plan dominated this cycle. This week in Texas politics. Let’s get our headlines from our panel. And we’ll start first with Patrick Svitek from The Washington Post. Patrick, your headline? 

PATRICK SVITEK: Well, you know, I’m coming to you from Washington where everyone’s been talking about the tragic plane crash that happened here. So, my headline is this, Tragedy on the Potomac. 

RUDY KOSKI: Political analyst Karina Kling, your headline for the week. 

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KARINA KLING: Yeah. No surprise here, but in Texas, Education Savings Accounts are on the fast track in the Texas Senate. 

RUDY KOSKI: Mark Jones from Rice University, your headline for the week. 

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MARK JONES: I’ll say, Shock and Awe. 

President Trump’s executive orders

Local perspective:

RUDY KOSKI: President Donald Trump went through a lot of ink this week, signing multiple executive orders. The orders range from deportations to dumping DEI. Patrick, several congressional members from Texas want to take those executive orders and make them law, codify them into law. Which ones are you tracking? 

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PATRICK SVITEK: Some of these executive orders reflect, you know, generally speaking, ideas that have already been implemented in Texas. And so, in some ways, Texas has taken the lead on some of these issues, particularly related to immigration. I know the state is constantly trying to push the envelope on that. 

RUDY KOSKI: Karina, the governor sure is talking a lot about border security, and that’s probably going to be a big issue Sunday during his State of the State address. Right. 

KARINA KLING: I think Governor Abbott is just really doubling down. He asked the federal government last week for reimbursement of the $11 billion for what the state has pumped into Operation Lone Star, the border security efforts here. But I think that this is just Governor Abbott saying we’re moving forward, we’re moving ahead. 

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MARK JONES: So, Texans have a nuanced view of immigration. If we’re talking about deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, nine out of ten of them favor doing that. If, on the other hand, the Trump administration begins deporting Dreamers as well as undocumented immigrants who have U.S. citizen children and spouses, that’s where you start to sort of not go against majority opinion, but you have a much larger share of the Texas population that is not on board with that. 

Latest on school choice in Texas

Local perspective:

RUDY KOSKI: A Senate committee this week passed the latest attempt at school choice here in Texas. That was followed by President Trump on Thursday signing a school choice executive order. Patrick, it’s getting big and broader, right? 

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PATRICK SVITEK: So, Republicans in Texas are going to have much more political cover at the national level to pursue this agenda, this legislative session. 

KARINA KLING: And we’re hearing from the lieutenant governor saying this will get passed next week. We’re assuming that Governor Abbott will make school choice education savings account a priority item in a State of the State. 

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MARK JONES: Well, I think for school choice advocates, they view this as an imperfect plan, but far better than the current status quo, which is no school choice. 

Latest in Texas Legislative Session

Local perspective:

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RUDY KOSKI: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick essentially backed a dump truck of bills into the Senate the other day and poured in 25 priority bills and then said, hey, I got a lot more that we’re going to total about 40 of them. Most of it is a collection of red meat. But there is one I think that could be substantial. That’s creating a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute in Texas. Mark, what’s on the list that you are watching? 

MARK JONES: What I think will be interesting is the Senate is likely to pass the large share, if not all of those. And then what will be fun to watch or at least, you know, intellectually interesting to watch is, what is Dustin Burrows do with this conservative avalanche of Bills that are going to arrive in the House sometime in mid, you know, late, late March and to mid-April. And what, it’ll be, it’ll be a good sort of test case for his alliance with Texas Democrats in terms of how much of that he effectively pushes through and how much of it he blocks. 

RUDY KOSKI: On Patrick’s list is an item establishing Texas as America’s film capital. Ironically, on Thursday, a coalition of Texas actors, including Matthew McConaughey, launched a campaign to tap into the budget surplus. For that, you know, I don’t know if state lawmakers will be starstruck over all this, but, you know, it could be interesting. Patrick, anything on the Lieutenant Governor’s list that has caught your attention. 

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PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, two things. I mean, I saw some items on there that seemed to echo what Republicans are pursuing nationally. There was the state level effort to do a Department of Government Efficiency. I also saw one of the bill titles was Make America Healthy Again. And so, you know, clearly reflecting the moment we’re in that now Republicans control the White House. You’re going to see Texas Republicans continue to try to complement or augment policies that Republicans are pushing at the national level. 

Wrapping up This Week in Texas Politics

Local perspective:

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RUDY KOSKI: Let’s wrap it all up with one word for the week. And we’ll start first with Karina, your word for the week. 

KARINA KLING: It’s been a long week, so I’m going to say, Weekend. 

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MARK JONES: I’ll stick with the theme of, Blitzkrieg. 

PATRICK SVITEK: Yeah, I’m going to stretch it and do, Déjà vu. Because we have the Lt Governor releasing a long list of priorities early in the session. People are swearing there’s only going to be one session this year. It sounds a lot like what we’ve heard every two years in Texas. 

RUDY KOSKI: All right. And that is This Week in Texas Politics. 

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The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski

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Austin, TX

Austin Pets Alive! marks milestone with 10,000 pets saved through transport program

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Austin Pets Alive! marks milestone with 10,000 pets saved through transport program


On Thursday, Austin Pets Alive! celebrated 10,000 pets saved through their Transport Program.

At 10 a.m. on January 30th, the shelter’s Transport Hub in Elgin TX, celebrated its 10,000th pet being transported to safety.

Ivy, a nine-year-old pit bull mix became the 10,000th pet rescued and was rescued from a neglect case.

After waiting almost a year, Ivy transported to Fetch WI, a rescue partner in Madison, Wisconsin.

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“Ivy’s journey today is not just about her—it represents 10,000 lives saved, 10,000 second chances, and the dedication of our transport team, partners, and supporters,” said Clare Callison, Senior Director of Care Operations at Austin Pets Alive! “Every transport means another shelter pet gets the opportunity to find a loving home, and we are committed to saving the next 10,000 lives.”

ALSO | Buc-ee’s breaks ground on a mega travel center in San Marcos

The Transport Hub where Ivy was transported from in Elgin, is new and will allow APA! to save 8,000 pets in its first three years.

The new hub was funded by a grant from Best Friends Animal Society.

The program started in 2021, and since has traveled over 5000,000 miles to partner shelters in the United States and Canada.

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The APA! Transport Program relies on community support and is 100% donor funded.



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Austin, TX

Texas lawmakers urged to ramp up laws to fight human trafficking

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Texas lawmakers urged to ramp up laws to fight human trafficking


January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. 

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Advocates for victims gathered Thursday at the state capitol. They are urging lawmakers to pass major reforms. 

Texas’ drive to eliminate human trafficking

The backstory:

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The State of Texas launched a comprehensive drive to eliminate human trafficking 20 years ago. 

Since then, many bills have been passed to crack down on the problem. But lawmakers were told this fight is far from over during a rally held on the south steps of the Texas Capitol Thursday.

In 2023, more than 2,300 people from Texas contacted the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

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Advocates for victims gather at Capitol

What they’re saying:

In a prepared statement, Bob Sanborn, president and CEO of Children at Risk, noted the work accomplished in previous Legislative Sessions.

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“Our state has made great strides in strengthening zero tolerance for human trafficking, but there is still work to do,” stated Sanborn in a news release.

The rally at the Texas Capitol involved members of organizations and agencies  that advocate for victims of human trafficking. Cosponsors of the event included:

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  • Allies Against Slavery
  • Crime Stoppers
  • Demand Disruption
  • Dallas CASA
  • Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office
  • Gracious Hearts
  • Houston 20
  • Lone Star Justice Alliance
  • No Trafficking Zone
  • North Texas Coalition Against Trafficking
  • Project Protect Our Children
  • Reflection Ministries
  • Texas Family Leadership Council
  • Texas Society of Medical Assistants
  • Street Grace
  • Traffick 911
  • Unbound Now

The coalition is pushing several legislative priorities for the regular session. Key issues include:

  • Screening and prevention for vulnerable youth
  • Improving protections and support for survivors
  • Training frontline workers to recognize human trafficking
  • Reducing illicit massage businesses
  • Improving laws that protect children and hold traffickers accountable

The group also wants legislation to get local prosecutors to do more to shut down sex-exploitation businesses.

“When we think about ending trafficking, there’s so much that needs to be talked about. And one of the big things is collaboration and collaboration with the legislative branch here in Austin and with all the great groups across the state of Texas that are focusing on ending trafficking now. Those that are really focused on making sure that every single victim, survivor of human trafficking is taken care of, that we are beginning to work at ending demand in our state,” said Sanborn during the rally.

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The number of businesses involved in illicit digital massaging has more than doubled in Texas in the past six years, according to information released by Sanborn. 

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski

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