Pitt junior quarterback Chad Voytik entered this season as the team's starter. But after an early hook in the beginning of the season, he remained on the bench for much of the year.
Given that new starter Tennessee transfer Nathan Peterman performed well this season, it looks like practically a given that Voytik would again be destined for backup duty barring an injury or a drastic downturn in performance from Peterman. As has been widely speculated since he hit the bench, Voytik could be on his way out of Pittsburgh.
Addressing the media today in the wake of his contract extension, head coach Pat Narduzzi admitted that he and Voytik have had some discussions regarding a potential transfer:
Voytik lost the starting job to Nate Peterman two weeks into the season, and even saw his backup role diminish as the year went on. He has one year of eligibility left, and is set to graduate this year, so he could play right away at another Division I school. Narduzzi admitted he has talked to Voytik about the possibility, but, like with Boyd, no decision has been made.
"We've had conversations," Narduzzi said. "Chad knows we want him here, but we also want what's best for Chad, too. I know it's not easy being a backup quarterback. We'll see where that train takes us."
It's important to note that Narduzzi said no decision had yet been made. But a transfer also seems likely given that Voytik has the potential to start elsewhere. Heading into his senior year, it's only natural to expect that he would want to play.
A key thing here, too, is that, as mentioned above, he is eligible to play for another D-I school immediately. This isn't a situation where Voytik will have to seek lesser competition to get onto the field right away (though it's possible that he may not land at a P5 program). Eligible immediately, he can help another team in need of a quarterback this upcoming year, making him an attractive option for teams losing a starter.
Voytik wasn't perfect during his time at Pitt. In his lone season as the team's starter in 2014, he struggled for practically half of the year. But with his mobility and what he showed in the second half of that season, he certainly will be able to find a home as a starter.
The move obviously hurts Pitt. Unless they can add a transfer to their roster for the upcoming year, they'll enter the season without an experienced signal caller behind Peterman. Assuming Peterman remains healthy and can repeat this year's performance, the Panthers will be fine. But if the loss of Boyd hurts him more than expected or he goes down with an injury, all of a sudden, Pitt is pretty vulnerable. The next guy up at this point would appear to be soon-to-be redshirt sophomore Adam Bertke. While Bertke has had two years of practice time with the program, he hasn't taken a single game snap yet.
It would be nice to see Voytik stick around for his final season but, realistically, I'm not sure it's in the cards.
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