Texas Tech running back Quinten Joyner expected to miss season with knee injury: Sources

Texas Tech running back Quinten Joyner, a transfer from USC, suffered a knee injury at the Red Raiders scrimmage Saturday that is expected to be season-ending, multiple team sources told The Athletic on Monday.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Joyner, a sophomore from Austin, rushed for 478 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per carry in 2024. He had a great spring and was having a great camp, a source said. Tech coaches have been really impressed with his patience, his ability to set up blocks and his breakaway speed.

The Red Raiders, ranked No. 23 in the AP poll, will have to lean on a pair of sophomores to handle their running game. J’Koby Williams, a 5-10, 185-pound sophomore who had 236 yards in 2024, has similar explosiveness to Joyner but is not as powerful. Cameron Dickey, 5-10 and 215 pounds, has similar size and strength to Joyner, but doesn’t quite have the same kind of speed.

Tech opens the season Aug. 30 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

CBS Sports first reported the injury.

(Photo: Nathan Giese / Avalanche-Journal / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)