Texas Tech loses new running back Quinten Joyner for 2025 season with torn ACL

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A promising Texas Tech football player will have to wait until 2026 to get back on the field.

Quinten Joyner, who transferred to the Red Raiders after two years at USC, suffered a non-contact injury during the team’s scrimmage on Saturday. Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire confirmed on his podcast what the team feared – Joyner tore his ACL. 

Texas Tech, ranked No. 23 this preseason, will now be without the man expected to work the lion’s share of carries in the backfield this year. 

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Quinten Joyner runs the ball during the Texas Tech football team's spring game, Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium. (IMAGN)

Joyner was a four-star recruit who went out to California instead of staying in his native Texas, where he had some offers. He tallied 478 rushing yards with four total touchdowns last season for the Trojans, where he mainly backed up Woody Marks. 

Heading over to Texas Tech offered him a better opportunity to get playing time, while also returning closer to home. 

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But now McGuire is going to have to focus on Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams, the other two running backs on the depth chart who need to step up in place of Joyner. 

"I hate it so much for him, just because of how well he has done in the spring, summer and camp," McGuire said about Joyner. "He has really come in here and been a pro, and we’ve asked him to do a lot of stuff that he hasn’t done before. …He’s really taken to