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Texas Tech RB Expected to Return from Injury vs. Arizona
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- Texas Tech RB Expected to Return from Injury vs. Arizona
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
LUBBOCK-- Texas Tech's bruising running back Cam Dickey injured his left ankle in the Red Raiders' road win over Colorado on Oct. 3.
After going through the bye week and missing Tech's next two games - a blowout win over Arizona State and an underwhelming loss at Cincinnati - Dickey is on track to return to Joey McGuire's lineup for the ranked clash with fellow one-loss Big 12 foe Arizona on Saturday.
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"He should be good to go," McGuire said about Dickey this week.
The all-conference ball carrier from a year ago entered this season amidst a three-man committee next to J'Koby Williams and Quinten Joyner.
While the former USC transfer Joyner has been up and down in his first season on the field following last year's preseason injury, Dickey has been the "thunder" to Williams' "lightning", making for an interesting rushing attack for Texas Tech.
That ground game has also featured fifth-year quarterback transfer Thomas Castellanos, though McGuire admitted to his mistake in not putting Castellanos in his typical short-yardage, low red zone spots in the loss to the Bearcats this weekend.
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No. 13-ranked Texas Tech's offense could get a major boost with Dickey back in the lineup against No. 22 Arizona on Halloween afternoon (11 a.m. CT kickoff on ESPN).
"We should get him with a full [practice on] Wednesday, unless he has any setbacks," McGuire said. "I know he looked good last week, and so it's going to be good to have him back. Just another guy that's been in some big games that's got a lot of experience and a lot of juice."
This season, the junior Dickey has rushed for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
"He's so consistent, so reliable," Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said of Dickey. "He's so versatile because you can do a bunch of stuff with him out of the backfield and as a blocker. He's great at blitz pickup, which will be huge this week. Getting him back will be a big boost for us for sure and just gives us good depth in that room."
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In his absence, Williams has become the team's leading rusher with 619 yards. He posted a career-high 165 yards (141 at halftime) against the Sun Devils on Oct. 17, Tech's most recent outing at Galaxy Stadium.
Last week, Williams was held to 81 yards as the Will Hammond-led offense struggled particularly in red zone situations, scoring just one touchdown in several trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
Texas Tech's passing offense has lagged behind the run game significantly, and Hammond's six passing touchdowns to six interceptions indicate what McGuire called a "rollercoaster" start to the redshirt sophomore's first full season as the starting quarterback.
The Red Raiders are anticipating making adjustments to Leftwich's scheme to simplify things for Hammond.
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"We as coaches have to do a really good job of if we're putting too much on him, to find a way to simplify it and then he has to do a good job of responding with the stuff that we're asking him to do," said McGuire, who used cutting the number of reads Hammond goes through each play as an example of these modifications.
READ MORE: Texas Tech Takes 5-Spot Slide in AP Rankings
"All those kinds of things are on the table and trying to figure out what those things you know when you talk about simplifying the passing game," Leftwich added. "Especially what type of reads he does best and just really honing in on what we can do well."
Perhaps the easiest offensive fix is getting Cam Dickey available again out of the backfield.
