Now is the time for Quinten Joyner to show Texas Tech fans what he's capable of

The last thing the struggling Texas Tech offense needed was to lose one of its most consistent players for an extended period, but that's what happened following the Colorado game last Saturday night. Running back Cam Dickey, who put up 1,124 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in 2025, is set to miss at least the next two games with a high ankle sprain suffered against the Buffaloes.

With such a critical player sidelined, the focus turns to running back Quinten Joyner to pick up the slack. Whether or not he is capable of doing so could determine how the rest of the season plays out.

So far in 2026, the former USC transfer who missed all of last season after tearing a knee ligament in fall camp has not lived up to the billing that accompanied him when he joined the program two offseasons ago. That's to be expected as he works his way back from such a major injury.

Now, though, it is time for him to start to look like the player Texas Tech fans have expected him to be. According to head coach Joey McGuire, Joyner is progressing well as he works his way back toward being the player he was before his injury.

"The biggest thing is he probably got cleared at 230 pounds, and he's down to like 216," McGuire said earlier this week, "so he's in really good shape, closer to whenever he got hurt. I think you're seeing that with his runs."

Hopefully, McGuire's on to something. After all, Joyner had his best game of the season against Colorado last weekend.

In Tech's 29-7 win, Joyner carried the ball 10 times for 62 yards (both were season-highs). He also scored on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter, a play on which he broke several tackles and displayed excellent balance as he made his way to the end zone.

In that game, he was asked to handle a larger workload than usual after Dickey's first-half exit. Joyner appeared up to the task, averaging 6.2 yards per rush. According to McGuire, Joyner should get even more comfortable in the offense as he gets more reps.

"I always think also, whenever you get somebody banged up, and now the hat's on your head, that you step it up," McGuire said. "And I think, you know, he showed it the other night in some of his carries. I think he'll really step it up."

To say that Tech needs Joyner to take up the slack is obvious. The question is whether or not he's ready to do that.

Texas Tech has to get the best out of Joyner in Dickey's absence

There is no denying Dickey's importance to the offense. Though he isn't Tech's leading rusher this season (that is J'Koby Williams), Dickey is the workhorse of the backfield.

While Williams is Tech's big-play threat from the running back position, Dickey is the one who picks up the tough yards between the tackles. Most importantly, he is who Tech has turned to most frequently in short-yardage situations.

Dickey operates as Tech's wildcat quarterback when he takes direct snaps and plows into the line to pick up just enough yards to keep a drive going or get the ball into the end zone. When he was out against Colorado, Tech tried that same strategy with both Williams and Joyner, and on all three occasions, those wildcat snaps were unsuccessful.

While Joyner may or may not be the one to fill Dickey's wildcat role, he will undoubtedly be the one who teams with Williams to keep the running back rotation fresh. That's going to mean an increased workload for a player who hasn't had more than ten carries in a game in his college football career.

To put that in perspective, Dickey has had 17 games with 11 or more rushing attempts in his three years with the Red Raiders. In fact, he had more than ten carries in every game until the Colorado contest, when he touched the ball only four times before spraining his ankle.

We must remember that Williams is a small back. At just 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, he's not built to be a battering ram. With explosive running backs his size, there is usually a point where the law of diminishing returns takes over, and their effectiveness drops off after too much work.

So Joyner has to be ready to grind away at defenses. He's going to get a steady workload in Dickey's absence, and how he handles this opportunity could determine the effectiveness of the Red Raider offense for the foreseeable future.

In fact, given the nature of high ankle sprains and how they tend to linger, we may not see Dickey at full strength for the rest of the season. That means Joyner is now a critical component of the Red Raider offense. Hopefully, he is ready for the spotlight because he's now being called upon to help carry the load for his team.

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