Like any football team in 2026, Texas Tech has several players whose performance will be particularly critical to the squad's success. These players, whether by virtue of experience, leadership, importance of the position played, depth concerns, or sheer talent, are especially crucial. They may or not be the best players on the club, but they would be very conspicuous were they to be absent for any reason. In fact, that may be the best way to conceive of the critical players—they are the performers the team could least afford to lose.
No. 12
Cameron Dickey
RB
5-foot-10, 215
Junior
Austin, Texas
How many college football teams return a first-team all-conference running back who rushed for over 1,100 yards and had over 200 receiving yards, yet wouldn't make its top-10 list of important players? None. That's how many. But that may very well be the case with Cameron Dickey and Texas Tech.
So, what gives? Why does Dickey check in at No. 12 of the Critical 20 rather than No. 3? In a word, depth. There may be several college football teams who have one individual back who is better than any of Texas Tech's, but there isn't a club that has three running backs as skilled as Texas Tech's. In addition to Dickey, who will be a bona fide All-American candidate this season, there are J'Koby Williams, who has already appeared on this list, and Quinten Joyner who could be on a postseason Critical 20. All three of those backs might be good enough to start for every team in the Big XII not named Texas Tech. Now that's a salty stable of running backs.
As for Dickey, incredible though it undoubtedly is, he is reported to have received offers from only Lamar and Texas State, besides Texas Tech, coming out of high school. He was on the University of Texas' doorstep, yet apparently they didn't even give him a look. An unpardonable error on the part of the Longhorns.
Dickey really burst onto the scene as a sophomore, putting up tremendous numbers despite splitting time with Williams. He rushed for 1,124 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 5.4 yards per tote. Dickey also caught 25 passes for 224 yards and two additional touchdowns. It was the best season by a Texas college running back named Dickey since Texas A&M's Curtis Dickey put together a tremendous campaign in 1978.
What allowed Dickey to have such an outstanding season last year was his improved ability to see plays develop and read blocks at the line of scrimmage. Although Dickey is a big back, he is also nimble and fast enough to bounce it outside when the interior gaps are sealed, provided he sees the opportunity to do so. As Dickey gained experience last year, he increasingly saw those opportunities and took advantage of them. And, when Dickey does get outside he is very dangerous because he has the speed to take it to the house from anywhere on the field.
It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich utilizes Dickey, Williams and Joyner. Maybe we'll see a touch of the old wishbone. (Only partly joking.) And with the presence of Jordan Church at guard, it is likely that Texas Tech's interior rushing game will improve, too. There may be less need for Dickey to get to the edge in 2026. At any rate, given the talent in the backfield, Texas Tech could rush the ball with the frequency of Chuck Knox's 1983 Seattle Seahawks and still be extremely effective, and that most definitely is not a joke.