UVALDE, Texas — Uvalde students had some very special guests Friday ahead of the high school’s big football game. The Houston Texans made the trek out west to visit the town and offer some tips.
The surprise actually started Thursday night when Texans players and Coach Lovie Smith surprised the team at a dinner in Uvalde.
The group spent time talking with the players and lending their support to a community that continues to mourn the loss of 19 students and two teachers who were killed in that school shooting back in May.
Then Friday morning, there was another surprise. The Texans gifted the high school players with brand new uniforms, which they will be wearing for Friday’s game.
Afterwards, they took some time to visit the memorial at Robb Elementary and later in the morning, the Texans put on a football clinic for both elementary and middle school students, to learn the fundamentals of flag football, hoping it will help foster a love for the sport and to get their minds off the tragedy.
“Why they want to do it is because they were willing to come just to help us get happy," said Uvalde third-grader Yaliz Rodriguez.
Some former Texans players were at that clinic in Uvalde today to help coach the kids, including former player and Texans player Jonathan Wells.
“There’s really no words, like I said, you just gotta come here, smile on them, hug on them, just love on them,” said Wells. “Make sure that they’re staying positive in their mindset as much as they can. You can never erase the type of imagery that some of these kids had to go through so there’s nothing you can really say, you just come here and try to support them.”
On Friday night, those former players will be on the sidelines for the big home opener in Uvalde and before that, they will visit with the team in the locker room before kickoff.
The Texans will also continue their support by wearing a ‘Uvalde strong’ decal on their helmets when they take on the Indianapolis colts in their season opener next Sunday.