Texas Tech’s backfield is about to get a lot more crowded - and a lot more dangerous.
One year after Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams combined for 25 touchdowns and more than 2,600 all-purpose yards, the Red Raiders are preparing to add Quentin Joyner into the mix. That gives the offense a trio the coaches and players are already calling a “three-headed monster.”
“It’s going to be awesome. Keep coming back, it’s going to be a three-headed monster, I’d say all three of us are going to be out there, and whenever our name is called, we’re going to be fresh, ready to go, and it’s going to be hard to stop!,” said Cameron Dickey, who was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list on Monday.
Joyner’s arrival has been a long time coming. He missed last season after tearing his ACL in fall camp, but offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said the running back is ready now and has already done the work this offseason.
“Man, he looked good! He looked really good.
I think that running back room gets you fired up. I would put ours up against anybody in the country with him, J’Koby and Cam,” he said.
“We’ll definitely lean on those guys, but I feel like Q’s going to step in and kind of challenge Cam and Jack. I feel really good about any of those guys whenever they’re in the game.”
Joyner’s production before joining Texas Tech gives the Red Raiders another proven option. In 2024, he had 63 carries for 478 yards and scored four touchdowns for USC.
Head coach Joey McGuire is just as eager to see what the full group looks like once the season starts. He said fans are about to see why Texas Tech is so confident in the position group.
“The average Red Raider fan doesn’t understand that we y’all probably don’t need to even throw the ball to win games. just because those guys are so special. Of course, it was a joke when it comes to that, but we’re really fortunate,” he said.
“With our running back room, there’s very few in the country that can compare with those three. They’re all three different.
They all three have different personalities. I’m really excited for fans to see Q.
He’s very smooth, but he’s also extremely physical. He’s going to play somewhere between 215 and 220 pounds.
And he’s got great hands out of the backfield, so all three of them catch the ball well, but he’s got a very fluid motion. He’s very smooth when he runs the football.”
Texas Tech opens the season Saturday, Sept. 5, against Abilene Christian, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
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