Texas
Texas toll road texts: FBI issues warning for suspicious texts
![Texas toll road texts: FBI issues warning for suspicious texts Texas toll road texts: FBI issues warning for suspicious texts](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox26houston.com/www.fox26houston.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1280/720/Sam-Houston-Tollway-Northeast-Plaza-closure-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
HOUSTON – Heads up to drivers who drive on a toll road across the state of Texas.
The FBI is reporting a spike in what they are calling smishing texts representing road toll collection services in multiple states.
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According to the FBI, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, has received over 2,000 complaints reporting the texts.
The text will claim the recipient owes money for unpaid tolls and contain almost identifcal language.
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The “outstanding toll amount” is similar among the complaints reported to the IC3.
Officials said, the link provided in the text was created to impersonate the state’s toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change.
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Texas
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes Donate $5 Million to Football Center at His Alma Mater Texas Tech
![Patrick and Brittany Mahomes Donate Million to Football Center at His Alma Mater Texas Tech Patrick and Brittany Mahomes Donate Million to Football Center at His Alma Mater Texas Tech](https://people.com/thmb/fA56ysmYw6DMrMeRehHevJ_-jmw=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/_patrick-mahomes-believes-hed-be-nowhere-without-wife-brittany-071723-tout-dae2e5eb7dfe4bb6b8260520025cd886.jpg)
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes are giving back to the quarterback’s alma mater, Texas Tech University.
Texas Tech Athletics announced on Thursday, Aug. 22 that Patrick and Brittany, both 28, have pledged a $5 million donation towards the South End Zone and Dustin R. Womble Football Center project.
To thank the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback for his generous gift, Texas Tech said a walkthrough area in the soon-to-be-completed Womble Football Center will be named after him.
Patrick will also become the namesake of the university’s quarterback meeting room and the coordinator’s office in the new South End Zone Building to Jones AT&T Stadium, per Texas Tech’s announcement.
The quarterback reshared Texas Tech’s posts about the news on Instagram and X.
Fundraising for the center began when Patrick — a now three-time NFL champion — was just a freshman at the university, according to the school.
Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt announced the Campaign for Fearless Champions in 2014 in an effort to enhance athletic facilities, invest in student-athlete scholarship programs and produce a a “first-of-its-kind” leadership academy.
John E. Moore III/Getty
“When we first launched this campaign, Patrick was only a freshman and now it is fitting that we approach the end of the campaign with a gift of his own,” Hocutt said in the announcement.
Hocutt said the school’s athletics program “couldn’t be prouder to announce” the donation from the Mahomeses, adding, “We are so proud of Patrick for all he has accomplished and how he has continually supported Texas Tech on a global scale.”
Texas Tech Football head coach Joey McGuire added, “There isn’t a greater ambassador for Texas Tech Athletics than Patrick Mahomes. He is arguably the best brand in sports, not only for his success on the field but for what he and his family do off it.”
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“Since my hiring here at Texas Tech, it’s been evident to me just how much Patrick truly loves this university and football program, and this gift further emphasizes that,” McGuire continued. “On behalf of our entire program, we can’t thank Patrick and Brittany enough for the impact they are making on our student-athletes and the future of Texas Tech Football.”
Texas
What is Texas Getting With SMU Transfer RB Velton Gardner?
![What is Texas Getting With SMU Transfer RB Velton Gardner? What is Texas Getting With SMU Transfer RB Velton Gardner?](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3300,h_1856,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/longhorns_country/01j5wa212v4ddy5gpy0j.jpg)
AUSTIN — “Sark After Dark” was in full effect Wednesday night, as the Texas Longhorns landed SMU transfer running back Velton Gardner, per a post on his Instagram page.
The Dallas native will be entering his sixth season of college football as a grad transfer after playing three years at Kansas and two seasons in his hometown with the Mustangs.
Gardner announced in February that he’d be entering the portal and has now finally found the final destination of his collegiate career. He joins a running back room that’s headlined by Jaydon Blue along with sophomore Tre Wisner and freshman Jerrick Gibson.
So what does he bring to Austin? To put it simply, speed and experience, the latter of which Texas is currently lacking at the running back position.
The Longhorns will be lead by Blue this season, but Gardner, who first enrolled at Kansas before the pandemic, immediately becomes one of the team’s oldest players. What he could provide as a potential mentor for the likes of Wisner, Gibson and even Clark during the season could end up proving more valuable for the future of the program than the carries he’s likely to receive in a depth role as grad transfer.
During his career, Gardner has played alongside running backs like Chicago Bears’ Khaili Herbert, current Kansas star Devin Neal and former Cincinnati Bengal Pooka Williams Jr. He’s seen what it takes to play at an elite level and is better suited than most to rub off some of this knowledge on the Texas young guns.
However, his speed could certainly earn him more than just a touch or two every game as well.
Gardner has flashed his breakaway speed on occasion during his lengthy career. Though he’s never had a full-time role as the lead back, he has six runs of 30 yards or more and four runs of 40 yards or more in his career, including this 61-yard touchdown during the 2020 season with Kansas in which he avoided defenders without being touched while sprinting past the defense down the sideline.
Take a look:
You don’t score a 61-yard touchdown untouched unless you’ve got some high-speed jets for feet. Gardner isn’t necessarily an Xavier Worthy-type of fast, but he could be due for a long touchdown run at some point this season.
Gardner’s experience lines up with what coach Steve Sarkisian said the staff is looking for in a potential new running back when he spoke to the media on Monday.
“We definitely have a spot that we can utilize,” Sarkisian said. “Again, a lot of times this late in the game, it’s probably not a traditional transfer, maybe more of a graduate transfer, something of the sort. So we’re kind of looking at all of our options. We just don’t want to take a body, to take a body. If it’s someone that can help us in some capacity, maybe limited role, bigger role, whatever that is, we are we are looking at all options.”
In five total seasons, Gardner has tallied 229 carries for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns while adding 22 catches for 73 receiving yards. During the 2020 season with Kansas, he posted a career-best 72 carries before finishing with a career-high 368 rushing yards two years later with the Mustangs. At SMU in 2022, Gardner had a career-high 100 yards rushing on 11 carries in a 45-16 win over Lamar.
No. 4 Texas kicks off the regular season at home against the Colorado State Rams on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Texas
Texas Adds New Transfer Running Back After CJ Baxter Injury
![Texas Adds New Transfer Running Back After CJ Baxter Injury Texas Adds New Transfer Running Back After CJ Baxter Injury](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3300,h_1856,x_0,y_76/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/longhorns_country/01j5w41bsknf4kt7bf2x.jpg)
AUSTIN – The Texas Longhorns have been looking for answers at running back after the season-ending injuries to CJ Baxter and Christian Clark.
Now, it looks like they have found one.
According to an announcement on his personal Instagram account, former Kansas and SMU running back Velton Gardner has committed to the Longhorns, where he will join Jaydon Blue, Jerrick Gibson, and Tre Wisner in the backfield.
As a recruit, Gardner was a three-star prospect out of Skyline (Dallas, TX), and ranked as the No. 817 player in the country and No. 106 player in Texas per the 247 Composite Ranking.
He then committed to Kansas, where he was one of their highest-rated prospects.
A seasoned vet, Gardner has played in 37 games throughout his five-year career, rushing 229 times for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns, while catching 22 passes for 73 yards.
Gardner started his career with the Jayhawks, playing in 19 games from 2019-201, and rushing 127 times for 529 yards and four scores while averaging 4.1 yards per carry.
He then transferred to SMU where he played in 18 games, and rushed 102 times for 505 yards and two scores, averaging 5.0 yards per carry along the way. With the Mustangs, Gardner also played in two bowl games.
The Mustangs went 18-9 over the two seasons with Gardner in tow, winning the AAC title, and playing in the New Mexico Bowl and the Fenway Bowl.
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