Taron Tyger Dickens is an American college football quarterback for the Northern Illinois Huskies. He has previously played for the Western Carolina Catamounts.
Early life Dickens attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School in Miami, Florida. As a junior, he threw for 3,743 yards and 42 touchdowns. During his senior year, Dickens set the record as Miami-Dade County’s all-time leading passer. Following his high school career, he committed to play college football at Western Carolina University.
College career After playing sparingly as a freshman, Dickens started four games in 2024, throwing for 1,428 yards and 12 touchdowns. He missed the first three games of the 2025 season due to eligibility issues but eventually returned as the starter. Against Samford, he threw for 582 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Catamounts to a 50–35 victory. Against Wofford, Dickens completed 46 consecutive passes, setting the NCAA record for consecutive completions in a single game. He finished the game completing 53 of 56 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. Dickens started nine games in 2025, completing 271 passes for 3,508 yards and a single-season school and Southern Conference record, 38 touchdowns. Dickens was also named a finalist for the Walter Payton award. On November 24, 2025, it was reported that Dickens had entered the transfer portal.
On February 15, 2026, Dickens announced his decision to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, he decommitted from North Carolina in May and reentered the transfer portal. On July 3, Dickens announced his commitment to transfer to Northern Illinois University to play for the Northern Illinois Huskies.
Statistics SeasonTeam Games Passing Rushing GP GS Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD 2023Western Carolina 2 0 0–0 4 6 66.7 127 21.2 1 0 299.5 6 -6 -1.0 0 2024Western Carolina 7 4 3–1 127 172 73.8 1,428 8.3 12 3 163.1 58 56 1.0 2 2025Western Carolina 9 9 7–2 271 365 74.2 3,508 9.6 38 2 188.2 97 321 3.3 1 2026Northern Illinois 4 2 0–2 84 120 70.0 837 7.0 3 2 133.5 27 -52 -1.9 0 Career 22 15 10−5 486 663 73.3 5,900 8.9 54 7 172.8 188 319 1.7 3
References
External links Western Carolina Catamounts bio