Texas Tech has a three-headed monster and Cameron Dickey is leading the charge
Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey is stepping into the spotlight beyond Lubbock, earning national attention with his recent appearance on the Big 12 Today podcast. As one of the Red Raiders’ emerging offensive playmakers, Dickey reflected on his development, the team’s progress, and the mindset driving Texas Tech forward this season.
Dickey talks decision to choose Texas Tech
Coming out of Austin (TX) Crockett, Dickey picked the Red Raiders and never looked back. As Texas Tech looked to pursue a specific athletic profile, his ability in another sport caught the eyes of the staff.
“To be honest, I think it was a track time I dropped,” Dickey said. “I was kind of like in the mix with them and I ended up dropping a pretty good time on the track. And Coach Blanch (James Blanchard) ended up texting me after that meet. He was like, ‘would you run?’ I sent him the time for that track meet. He was like, ‘Okay. We’ll have to get you down here.'”
Is Dickey the alpha of Texas Tech’s running back room?
Dickey is coming off a breakout season where he and J’Koby Williams established themselves as a dynamic 1-2 punch. With Quinten Joyner expected back in the fold, Dickey sees their games meshing together to become a stronger unit as a whole.
“I’ll say we have a great relationship in the room. We’re super competitive, that’s gonna make all of us better,” he said. “And I think the role in the room now would be able to play more on special teams. And then we’re gonna be able to feed it to who’s hot, and go any way with a 3-man punch. Also, we have some young guys in the room. They’ve been looking pretty good.
So excited to see what they do this year. I think it’s gonna be like whoever’s ready to go. Coach is gonna call your name, and we’ll go out there and perform.”
How Dickey handled an unexpected call-to-action
Entering his sophomore season, Dickey’s role wasn’t expected to be what it turned into. The expectation was for Joyner to shoulder the load. An injury to the USC transfer meant was next-up, and he rose to the occasion.
“I think my expectations during offseason were nowhere near like what the season went by, how the season went,” Dickey said. “With Quinten (Joyner) being there, I thought it was going to be a lot less reps. And unfortunately with him getting hurt, it allowed me and J’Koby (Williams) to play a lot like I guess go 50-50 basically. It was unexpected, super unexpected, but it ended up being well for us. It’s going to be super glad to have him back next season.”
The Process of Off-season Recovery
Part of growing up as a college athlete is understanding the nuances of the game outside the lines. Recovery is a major component that Texas Tech continues to push. This is especially the case with the Womble Football Center facilities.
“I’d definitely say it starts in the training room. You know, the day after the game, we’re in there in the morning, getting checked up, whatever, any bangs or bruises, make sure to get those taken care of,” Dickey said. “If there’s anything bad that happened for the game, like a deep bruise or whatnot, we’re working it out, staying on it throughout the whole week. And it’s just like, I would say, just my routine. I built like a pretty good routine. I’m in there Monday mornings, getting mobility done. Tuesdays, saunas. And then ending every practice at the cold tub and hot tubs. It’s just like a little routine I built. So I think just staying on the routine has helped me, helped my body a lot.”
How this New Group Was Brought Together
In a similar vein to a year ago, Texas Tech is in a position of reloading and instilling its culture with the bevy of newcomers. Dickey spoke to what the team does to bond and how coach Joey McGuire impacts this.
“I feel like he just does a great job of what he does. We do a lot of team bonding events. He just stresses that the closer we are, the better we are going to be,” Dickey said. “And so I feel like we’ve built like a really good relationship with new guys already. He knows it’s going to get stronger. Just having these new guys here, and they’re awesome. Love having them on the team. Having funny guys. It’s also just really cool meeting new guys, see where they’re from, their life stories and whatnot.”
How he defines Texas Tech football
Entering a 2026 campaign with expectations higher than before, Dickey understands the task at hand. It’s still early in spring football, but Dickey likes what he sees and what this team could be.
“Oh yeah, that’s a good question. I would say other teams don’t want to be the team that grabs a hold of us, because if they do, they’re going to grab a hold of something they don’t want to,” Dickey said. “I feel like we’re a really good team, both sides of the ball. We’re going to play our brand of football. We’re going to be the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team on the field. And we’re going to play good game, good football this year. So be ready for those teams, teams be ready for us.”
Join the conversation with other Red Raiders on the Inside The Double T forum.
Subscribe today to get the most in-depth Texas Tech sports and recruiting coverage.
Follow us on X: @RedRaiderSports
Like and follow us on Instagram @rrs_rivals & like us on Facebook.
