Chad Voytik to Visit IU

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

IU’s quarterback battle might be getting a little bit more crowded. Despite a depth chart that includes Richard Lagow, Austin King, Donovan Hale and true freshman Peyton Ramsey, the Indiana Hoosiers will be hosting a graduate transfer quarterback to see if he would be a good fit in Bloomington.

According to Jerry DiPaola, a writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Chad Voytik will be visiting IU, Memphis and Eastern Kentucky after deciding to transfer from the University of Pittsburgh to play his final season of college football. Voytik decided to transfer following the 2015 season. At the time, he released a statement saying, “I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to attend and play for the University of Pittsburgh.”

Voytik started 13 games in 2014 and completed 61.3% of his passes for 2,233 yards with 16 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He excelled as a runner, scampering for 466 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He entered the 2015 season (under first year head coach Pat Narduzzi) as the starter but was replaced by Nate Peterman. During the 2015 season, Voytik ended up appearing in seven games, completing 66% of his passes for 112 yards.

He’s a better runner than both Lagow and King (I imagine Hale would have Voytik beat as a runner though) and his completion percentage over the course of his career suggests he could put up decent numbers in Kevin Wilson’s system and with this crop of IU receivers. However, he would only be on the squad for one season and giving him significant snaps would take away from the development of both Richard Lagow and Austin King. If he ends up signing on to play for the Hoosiers, it would be a bit of a head scratcher.

What This Visit MIGHT Mean

I have the word “MIGHT” in all caps because there’s no way to know for sure what the IU coaches think of Voytik or what they think of the current depth at quarterback on IU’s roster. They may see untapped potential in Voytik or they may have heard from Pittsburgh’s coaches that he could be a positive influence in IU’s locker room. It should also be pointed out that Indiana, as far as we know, has not offered a scholarship to Chad Voytik at this time.

All that being said, it is possible that IU’s offensive coaches don’t feel great about their current depth at quarterback. Zander Diamont is injured and unable to participate in spring practice. Despite having some experience at QB, the junior from California has been moved to wide receiver. Still, on paper, things seem to be just fine at the critical position of signal-caller. The presumed starter is JUCO transfer Richard Lagow while the presumed back-up is redshirt freshman Austin King. The Hoosiers have moved dynamic athlete Donovan Hale to quarterback and they will have true freshman Peyton Ramsey on campus for practice in the fall. In addition, Danny Cameron is a capable quarterback that already has game experience. 

Voytik visiting is probably just the IU coaches doing their due diligence and pursuing all avenues to see if they can improve the roster. If Chad Voytik is interested in coming to IU, working within a very high-octane offense and competing for a spot on the depth chart, it can’t hurt to explore bringing him in for a year. However, it is somewhat possible that Kevin Wilson and his staff are concerned about the lack of game experience on the quarterback depth chart (Richard Lagow/Austin King/Donovan Hale have as many Division One starts as the staff at Hoosier Huddle does!) and bringing in Voytik would be a way to remedy that issue.

We’ll continue to monitor Chad Voytik and IU’s quarterback battle and updates will be provided once they are available.