Texas Tech Faces Shocking Blow as Star RB Quinten Joyner’s Season Ends Abruptly—What’s Next for the Red Raiders?

He was Southern Cal’s second-leading rusher last season, carrying 63 times for 478 yards and 3 touchdowns and catching 12 passes for 89 yards and a TD. Against Penn State, he had a 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 9-yard TD catch in the second quarter. He finished with 82 yards on three carries.

Williams and Dickey both carried 41 times last season, Williams for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns, Dickey for 225 yards and a TD.Joyner, the highly touted transfer from Southern California, will miss the season with a knee injury, Tech confirmed on Monday, Aug. 18. The Manor High School product got hurt in the team’s second preseason scrimmage on Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium in what McGuire described as “a non-contact deal.”After Brooks opted out of the Liberty Bowl last season, Williams was named Tech’s outstanding offensive player of the game. He rushed 15 times for 123 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown in the loss to Arkansas.”I hate it so much for him,” McGuire said, “just because of how well he has done in the spring, summer, and camp. He has really come in here and been a pro.”

He also had 10 carries for 84 yards and two TDs against Utah State and 10 carries for 83 yards against Notre Dame.

The Red Raiders expected to have three capable young backs sharing the load this season, so much so that Tech coach Joey McGuire had taken to calling sophomores Quinten Joyner, J’Koby Williams and Cameron Dickey “the committee.” Those best-laid plans were dashed two weeks before the season opener.McGuire made the comments on “What’s Next,” the football program’s in-house podcast released Monday afternoon.This story has been updated to add more information.Joyner, part of Tech’s heralded class of 22 transfers, picked the Red Raiders over Ohio State.Last season, Tahj Brooks didn’t just carry the load for Texas Tech football—he nearly shouldered the entire rushing attack alone, racking up over 1,500 yards twice and leaving defenders grasping at air. With eyes on sharing that ground-burning responsibility, head coach Joey McGuire had envisioned a dynamic trio of sophomore backs—Quinten Joyner, J’Koby Williams, and Cameron Dickey—nicknamed “the committee.” But fate intervened just as the season neared, dealing a harsh blow: Joyner, the prized USC transfer, is sidelined for the year with a knee injury sustained in a preseason scrimmage. This unexpected twist now thrusts Williams, Dickey, and redshirt freshman Adam Hill into a critical spotlight, reshaping the Red Raiders’ backfield strategy under pressure. You can feel the weight of this turn of events—not just on the roster but on the spirit of the team and the coach himself, who can’t help but express his heartfelt frustration. For an inside look at how Texas Tech plans to pivot moving forward, keep reading. LEARN MORE

Running back Quinten Joyner looks on during Texas Tech football practice, Friday, August 1, 2025, at the Womble Football Center.

Two-time 1,500-yard rusher Tahj Brooks made the Texas Tech football team’s rushing game something close to a one-man show last season, which was fine for all involved.Joyner went into preseason camp atop the depth chart at running back. Now the duties will shift primarily to Williams and Dickey, both of whom played in nearly every game last year. Next behind them is Adam Hill, a redshirt freshman who came aboard as a preferred walk-on.”It’s unfortunate,” McGuire said. “And we’re lucky that we have the (running-backs) room that we have, but I hate it for him. Anytime any of my players have an injury, man, it makes me sick to my stomach.”