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The latest on Texas Tech football RB room, Quinten Joyner timeline
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- The latest on Texas Tech football RB room, Quinten Joyner timeline
Quinten Joyner stayed healthy long enough last year to secure No. 1 running-back status on the Texas Tech football team going into preseason practice.
Then Joyner suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-August, and his backfield mates more than filled the void. Cameron Dickey rushed for more than 1,100 yards, becoming a Doak Walker Award semifinalist , and J'Koby Williams finished top-30 in the FBS in all-purpose yards, becoming a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award that goes to the nation's most versatile player.
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Not that the Red Raiders ' newly unearthed riches at running back diminish Joyner's belief in himself. During a Red Raider Club event this past week in Midland, Tech coach Joey McGuire illustrated as much by describing an interaction between Joyner and Garret McGuire, the backfield coach.
"Garret was talking to him," Joey McGuire said, "and he said, 'You've become the hunter. Last year, you were the hunted. You felt like you were the number-one back and these other guys were chasing you. You had a good spring, had a good summer.' And he said, 'Coach, I'm still the number-one back. Don't get it wrong.' "
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When does Joyner get to show it again? Realistically, not in spring practice . Not coming off surgery for a torn ACL.
"Q has started his straight-line running," McGuire said. "He's in a really good spot. I don't think he'll be fully released until June 1. Whenever it comes to spring, maybe individual drills if he's far enough along to where he can make cuts and stuff like that, but he's in a good spot, a really good spot."
Joyner, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound Manor graduate, was a state top-20 recruit and rushed for 478 yards at 7.6 yards per carry in 2024 as a redshirt freshman for Southern California. He transferred to Tech afterward.
Once Joyner is fully back, the Tech staff will have to figure out ways to involve him, Dickey and Williams.
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"Texas is probably the other team that would compare to our backfield when healthy," McGuire said. "They've got a good backfield. They did a good job in the portal running back-wise. I'd take our guys every day of the week, especially the two young guys showed they were special. We did a good job recruiting-wise, and we're developing them. It's a really strong room."
Running back Quinten Joyner looks on during Texas Tech football practice, Thursday July 31, 2025, at the Womble Football Center.
Since last season ended, the Red Raiders have returned two young backs to defense with Adam Hill going back to linebacker and Oliver Miles III going back to safety. Both switched positions last year — Hill before the season started, Miles midway through — to provide depth needed at running back.
Both were recruited out of high school to play defense, so they're back to the original plan. Redshirt freshman Michael Henderson III is another who moved from defensive back to running back after Joyner got hurt, but Henderson is still on offense, McGuire said.
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Among the freshmen who signed in December , 18 enrolled and joined the team in January. That group includes running back Ashton "Ace" Rowden from New Boston.
"So we've got really good depth in the running back room," McGuire said. "And if (Hill) is at linebacker, it also helps him a lot — he can get on the field faster on special teams playing defense."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Here is latest on Texas Tech football RB room, Quinten Joyner timeline
