Texas Tech football suffered a preseason blow Monday evening after a key transfer tore his ACL — an early setback for the Red Raiders on a roster they’ve spent millions on.
Quinten Joyner’s injury will sideline the junior running back for the entire upcoming college football season. Joyner, who spent two seasons at USC under Lincoln Riley, was joining a very expensive roster and was expected to have a big impact for Texas Tech.
Texas Tech’s central NIL collective, The Matador Club, committed the largest financial sum in the NCAA for NIL contracts this season: over $55 million. That number eclipsed even the Longhorns’ NIL contracts this year, which are near an estimated $40 million.
While the exact valuations of Joyner’s NIL deals are unknown, the running back’s absence will be a loss for the Red Raiders this season. Last year as a Trojan, Joyner led Big Ten running backs with 7.6 yards per carry. In two seasons at USC, he played 18 games and rushed for 603 yards and three touchdowns on 81 carries.
The Trojans also had a formidable running back in Woody Marks, who went to the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Marks’ presence on the USC roster limited Joyner’s playing time, though he got more opportunities his sophomore season.
Joyner’s transfer to the Red Raiders also brings the running back closer to home. A native of Manor, Texas, the 5-foot-11 Joyner was originally a four-star recruit in the class of 2022, ranked No. 90 nationally, No. 17 in the state and No. 4 among all running backs.
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