One-On-One With Arkansas State QB Chad Voytik

I recently had the opportunity to do a Q & A with senior quarterback Chad Voytik about the mindset of the team and his place leading the offense going forward.

• The public perception might be that the team could be down after a couple of tough losses. What is the attitude and the morale of the team like?

It feels the opposite of that and I think we are hungrier than ever to get our first win. We know that we’ve played two very good opponents so far and we know that even if you play near flawless games, you never know the outcome. I think we are confident in the corrections that we’ve made. The guys that we have on this team are very upbeat and are ready to roll this week.

• As a senior quarterback that has really only been with this team for a few weeks, how do you see your role at this point in the season?

I feel like I am a leader on this team and especially on offense and I feel like my role has been growing in that regard. I enjoy that part of it and I'm good friends with the guys. Its been an easy transition for me. Coming into the role as a graduate transfer is not always easy because you don't have a lot of time but I feel like I’ve built relationships with most of these guys. They trust me and I trust them, so it’s been good.

• It looked like there was more continuity and rhythm on the offensive side against Auburn than the previous week. What was your perception on the field about the flow of the offense?

It felt good even though we had some tough breaks. We had some fourth and one conversions that didn’t go our way and stopped drives, but we moved the chains. We had more first downs in the game (than against Toledo), and we obviously put up a few more points against a better defense than Toledo. I feel like we definitely got better and we picked out certain things we wanted to get better at and I feel like we accomplished that in the game. We had some bigger plays and got some rhythm there, now the scoreboard didn't show that.

• With the ongoing injury situation at running back, Johnston White with a hamstring issue and Armond Weh-Weh with a serious knee injury, do you feel that puts even more pressure on the passing game?

I don't because J-White is coming back from that injury and I feel like he will be ready to go and we still have Warren Wand as our leading guy. I feel like we have all the pieces and other guys that can step in. You always feel a certain amount of pressure and I have got to keep up my end of the deal. I don't feel added pressure. We are going to miss Weh-Weh of course but it doesn't add pressure.

• Coming to Jonesboro from Cleveland, TN by way of the University of Pittsburgh, have there been any changes for you football wise or socially?

To be honest the people here are more similar to what I'm used to in Cleveland, Tennessee. Cleveland is more similar to Jonesboro than it is Pittsburgh. It’s good to be back in the south and looking forward to this winter and not having to deal with -11 temperature as I walk to my classes. I enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh and it was a nice change, but Jonesboro is more similar to where I grew up.

Tune into CBS Sports Network Friday night September 16th 8:00 pm CST as Arkansas State travels to Logan UT to take on Utah State.