Texas Tech football true freshman RB shows off impressive speed in practice

The No. 2 running back battle is one of the best in Texas Tech fall camp. That's where junior Cam'Ron Valdez is competing with true freshman Cameron Dickey for the right to back up star senior Tahj Brooks.

While Valdez has been around long enough for Red Raider fans to get to know him, Dickey is a new face on the roster who has yet to play in a college game. However, it would be smart for everyone interested in Texas Tech football to start to learn about the talented freshman.

Friday, after the Red Raiders' first practice of fall camp in shoulder pads, the Texas Tech football program posted to X a video of Dickey taking a swing pass around the edge of the line and scoring a TD from over 30 yards out.

On the play, it is evident that Dickey has tremendous speed. In fact, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire replied to the post that Dickey hit 20.9 MPH on the play.

To understand what 20.9 MPH means, understand that Texas running back Jayden Blue was reportedly the fastest running back to play in a game last season hitting 22.3 MPH. However, there's a big difference between Blue and Dickey.

Blue, a junior for the Horns, stands 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. Meanwhile, Dickey is 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds.

In other words, Dickey is a heavier back by a significant margin making the speed he showed on Friday impressive. What's more, Dickey displayed that speed in practice. So think of what number he could put up when going all-out in an actual game.

Though it is early in Dickey's career, he certainly has the look of a player who is a future star running back for the Red Raiders. In the class of 2024, the Austin native was rated by 247Sports.com as just a three-star recruit, though.

He was ranked the No. 61 athlete in the nation and the No. 106 player in Texas. He picked the Red Raiders early in his recruitment so his only other offer was from Lamar.

Thus, there wasn't a ton of buzz surrounding his arrival. However, in the spring, he impressed enough to put himself in the mix for the No. 2 running back job where he's battling with Valdez, a junior who has appeared in 16 games and rushed for 471 yards and a TD in his career.

Of course, there is more to playing running back than pure speed. After all, we've seen plenty of speedsters fail to make their mark as running backs at Tech.

Dickey is going to have to master all of the nuances of playing the position before he's ready to earn the trust of the coaching staff and contribute on Saturdays. That includes learning blitz pick-up techniques and mastering things such as ball security and route running.

However, the fact that he's such an explosive athlete while already being in a college-ready body as a true freshman is impressive. So keep an eye on updates about Dickey as fall camp progresses because he is a young player to watch in August.