Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
10/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 5, 2004
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On bouncing back after the overtime loss: "I think we're okay. We had a good Monday night practice, and the kids are bouncing back a little bit. It's good to be back together. There's good news and bad news. The bad news is we've lost two games in overtime, but the good news is that we're competitive enough to go against two pretty good teams on their home turf and still play well."
On returning home to play: "Playing at home is certainly good. Our guys are a little tired of going into some of those environments that we've been in lately. It will be refreshing to be back at home, I think our guys will be looking forward to it. We've got a really tough schedule at home, which kind of compounds the problem a bit."
On Virginia Tech: "Obviously, they're a very well coached football team. Frank Beamer and his guys do a great job. We've shared ideas with them in the past. We think they're one of the better coaching groups in the country and have great talent and great tradition. They're a very tough, physical football team. They are the real deal. They have great special teams, a quarterback that's been around for a while, and a defense that likes to chase the ball. They are a big, big challenge."
On building a rivalry with the Hokies: "I think it's a natural rivalry since we're so close. They could almost be in the `Big 4' group and make it a `Big 5' with them being as close as they are. I think we've started to develop some pretty good rivalries with Clemson and NC State, schools that we weren't big rivals with before, and so I don't see Virginia Tech as being any different."
On the quarterback situation: "We've got two good ones, two that we like, two that we thought did good things on Saturday, and two that will play this Saturday. I thought Ben [Mauk] did some really good things, was in on a really nice drive. We had a couple of dropped balls when Cory [Randolph] was in that would have helped us a little bit. Both the quarterbacks did some good things, and both of them did some things we need to improve on, but I think we can move the ball and win with both those guys."
On competition for starting jobs: "You don't ever lose your job around here without having a chance to win it back. If you are a backup in our program, you know that the coaches are always going to give you a chance to compete for a job. If you're the starter in our program, you know the coaches are not going to unfairly let you keep your starting position. So, you just have to work all the time. As long as you play well you don't have to worry about it."
On committing to just one quarterback: "I think you have to be committed to winning. First and foremost, we're going to do everything that gives us the best chance to win. Secondly, I think you have to be committed to fairness. Fairness is not naming a guy and saying `you're my guy no matter what you do.' Fairness is letting people compete. I think our program is based on being competitive, and we're not going to treat our quarterback position any differently than we treat any position. If anybody plays so well that we can't take them off the field, I'll be tickled to death."
On injuries: "Like most teams, if you talk to most football coaches who have been through a tough schedule, we've got a lot of guys banged up. Fortunately, we don't have anyone from Saturday that's banged up so bad that we're not going to get them back, whether they play against Virginia Tech or not, I don't know. Eric King is a big question. Wesley Bryant's a question, but we'll see today with Wesley's ankle. Jyles Tucker is a big question mark. I have a feeling we'll have Goryal Scales back. He's been a warrior all year. He's played on a bad ankle almost the whole season, and I've been really proud of him. Jonathan Abbate's really sore with a bad knee. Some of those guys are pretty banged up, but you can't keep them out. Those are the guys that you count on. I think Jason [Anderson] will play. He was running around last night pretty well, and it looks like he'll be ready to go."
On playing a tough schedule: "I really believe that hard work takes care of a lot of problems. We'll go back to work this week. We're not going to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. We set the stage pretty early. We talked to our players about having a murderers row schedule, that every week was going to be a gut check, that we would go down to the wire with most of the teams we play, and you just got to play your hardest take whatever happens and move on to the next week. So, hopefully NC State is behind us and Virginia Tech is straight ahead."
Junior Running Back Chris Barclay
On playing Virginia Tech: "It is going to be a challenge. In the ACC, you play a tough competition every week. We have a good team coming in this weekend with Virginia Tech and it is very important that we bounce back really fast. We need to get a win Saturday. It is the mark of a good team that you can bounce back from a loss. We need to capitalize and continue to roll."
On playing Virginia Tech: "They are similar to NC State in regards to their athletic ability and they have good defensive players from what I've seen on film. They are good on both sides of the football. They are well-coached and it is very important that we stick to our assignments and fly around. Good things can happen.
On playing a complete game: "Once you get a team that you can feel giving in, you are up. But you have to play four quarters of good football. I think that was our problem at NC State, we had a lapse in the third quarter. It really lacked intensity and efficiency. It is just important that we learn from that game and every game of the season. So far we haven't played four solid quarters, but once we do that, I think that the wins will come and good things will happen."
Junior Punter Ryan Plackemeier
On getting back to practice after losing at NC State: "We did a good job coming back. We are not too down about it. I don't think Coach Grobe would ever let us get too down about a loss. We have a tough game coming into town this weekend that we have to prepare for. It will be a good challenge this weekend. I am looking forward to it and it will be a good opportunity to see if we can bounce back.
On the importance of special teams: "I think we have some pretty good special teams here at Wake. We are going to cover some kicks this weekend too. I'm just excited for the challenge of our team to face them, especially the special teams. If you look at stats after the game, it is usually the team with the best special teams who pulls out the win."
On Virginia Tech's special teams: "They really get off the ball snap both offensively and defensively. They are really quick and pretty talented. We are going to have to get off the ball and hit them. It will be a good challenge to work on our quickness this week on the punt teams especially."
Sophomore Strong Safety Patrick Ghee
On losing two heartbreakers: "We have had two tough overtime losses. The big reason we lost is because we did not finish our game. But, we did play well, but got beaten by two good opponents. Virginia Tech will be a good opponent for us and it is going to be a tough game."
On the effects of losing: "It makes us work harder. It would be good to be 4-1 right now, but we are 3-2 and we really want to go to a bowl game. That is our main goal for the year and it is going to be really tough, but I think we can do it. We just have to win a couple more games and we just need to do it."
On the remaining schedule: "It is going to be really tough. We have them (VT), Florida State, Miami. One thing at playing at home is you feel more comfortable playing at home. Playing at home is going to help us. We always play hard, but we need to play smarter. We need to finish our game. We play well at first, but if we continue to improve, we will play better each quarter."
Senior Tight End RD Montgomery
On the effects of losing at NC State "You don't have time to reflect on it. You have to erase it from your memory and move on. You have to prepare for the next game, Virginia Tech. After this, we have so many other teams, that after the game you can't dwell on the outcome, you just have to keep going and preparing for the next game."
On the importance of first down: "Our coach always talks about staying on schedule. First down we want to gain yards, not loose yards. You don't want to get a penalty either. Basically, do what you do on offense, catch the ball and move it up the field. You have to just be complete and keep going forward."
On Virginia Tech: "We have a very good team coming in. But it is always good at being home, with people cheering for you. I feel like it is going to be a very good football game featuring two hardworking teams.
