Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday's Football Press Conference Quotes
9/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2004
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the confidence of Boston College and Wake Forest:
"Boston College is playing really well, and when you haven't lost, you're going to have a lot of confidence. I think our team is a pretty confident team. We lost one at Clemson that we felt like we could have won, and we've won a couple since then, so I think we have two pretty confident teams playing on Saturday."
On playing a Division I-A team after a Division I-AA team:
"I don't think the turnaround is tough at all. I think the styles are much different, so that's our biggest problem. Boston College will remind everybody of a Big Ten team, they're huge football team. They like to run the football, have good play action passing, and defensively are a really physical, hard-nosed team. I think the contrast in styles will be more evident than the I-AA to I-A."
On the Boston College offense:
"They make us want to keep our pad level low. You don't want to get too high on these guys. They have good running backs, quarterback they protect really well for him, and their tight ends are dynamite. They have really good blocking tight ends, and I think for the past six or seven years, every one of their tight ends has made it to the National Football League. They're not only talented in the offensive line, but when you add the good tight ends into that mix, you have a big dominant offensive front and that drives every defense crazy, not just Wake Forest."
On the impact of playing on national TV on recruiting:
"It's always important when you have recruits watching you play that you play well. We not only have opportunities to play on national TV, but we bring a lot of recruits to our games. When you have a lot of recruits at the games, you want to play well."
On playing on national TV:
"It's always exciting for our players. Certainly we like it for our recruiting, but I think as much as anything, our players like being recognized. When you can be recognized either regionally or nationally, it's kind of fun for everybody."
On the toughness of the ACC competition:
"We always thought that the ACC was a great league before we added Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Now, of course, we understand the league's a lot tougher. The fans now realize that the ACC is one of the premier leagues in the country, so I think it's exciting for people that follow ACC football. Our players know we have to play hard every week because our schedule is unbelievably tough now."
On Boston College proving they can play in the ACC:
"I'm sure they'd like to prove that they can play in the league, but I think more than anything else that we were fortunate to win up there last year, so they have some payback in mind. We hit a pass at the end of the game to sneak one away from them. More so than proving they can play in the ACC, they want to come down and get us back for last year."
On the Eagles:
"I think they're a little bit better than last year's team. I like their quarterback a lot. They went to him at the end of the year and played a little bit against us, but he's a more mobile kid than the one they had before. He's completing about 64 or 65 percent of his throws right now, and he's a very mobile guy that can run and hurt you if you cover the receivers pretty good, because he will pull the ball down and take off with it. I think he makes them a better football team, and of course they're playing great defense right now."
On building the Demon Deacon football program:
"I don't think where we need to be yet. I'd love to get the football program to the same level Skip [Prosser]'s has the basketball program. But I do think that people feel a sense of excitement on Saturday now. I think people feel that we're competitive and have a chance to win every week, so we're going in the right direction. We're not where we want to be yet, but we're getting there. We are building a program that can be a program that people expect us to win every Saturday, and we'll see how this season goes, but I like this football team. We have people excited about this team."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Willie Idlette
On senior Eric King:
"We definitely like to keep it fun. We consider him one of the best corners in the ACC. For us as a receiving corps to be able to go up against him is always as good for us as it is for him. He lifts the spirits of the team, keeps everyone in order, and is a great leader for this team."
On improving from last season:
"We want to improve from last season. We don't want to dwell on anything in the past, but it definitely has motivated us. Coach Grobe's always preaching to us about being able to step up and take it one game at a time, so that is what we're going to do."
On Boston College:
"They're definitely a good team, and we never overlook anyone. With them being a future member of the ACC, it will be a good, hard-nosed game. They're definitely going to come down and play us hard because of the outcome of the game last season. But we're not so much going focus on them, Coach Grobe always tells us to always focus on us, do what we need to do."
"The coaches have a good offensive game plan for us. Now, we just have to go out and execute. We're not worried about how many points they've given up in three games, but we're going to go out and play Wake Forest football."
On the team's confidence:
"I think we're pretty confident. We never overlook anyone, but we never think anyone is going to beat us. We always come out and play with confidence. We're trying to improve game-by-game, and not let one game dictate our season."
On playing on national TV:
"It's definitely a blessing to be recognized by family and friends throughout the country and have them be able to watch us on TV."
Freshman Defensive Lineman Matt Robinson
On Boston College's attitude they might bring:
"There is no doubt that they are going to be real fired up about this one and we as a team have to know that they are coming in here and are going to be ready to play. We have watched film on them and know its going to be a battle, especially on the front line."
"We are pretty well-rounded. We are probably a little bit smaller up front, but we are also a little bit quicker, too. So we are going to try to use that to our advantage this week against Boston College."
On Boston College's confidence and 3-0 record:
"They are definitely on a roll. We all watched them play UConn on TV in the hotel and they have a good football team there is no doubt about it. They've had a good football team the past few years. They are definitely going to be coming in on a high so we are going to have to be on our game. We all know coming in that we are going to have to play a great game and that we can't make mistakes. We are going to have to be real physical with their guys up front."
On Wake's confidence:
"We are going to go into every game confident. Every game we go into we believe that we are going to win the game. You have to if you ever want to be a real competitor, especially in the ACC. You definitely have to step your game up."
Senior Cornerback Eric King
On leadership:
"One thing I felt we lacked last year was a little bit of team leadership, and I'm not taking anything away from the seniors that we had, but sometimes the guys just got down. We did have a couple seniors who didn't do things that seniors should do, and I'm not talking bad anybody, but just this year going into the season I knew that coming off of a 5-7 season last year that things were going to have to change. Guys are going to have to work harder and be more serious. We need that to become a better team."
"I made sure that I was very vocal and made sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to do. Most importantly I made sure I was doing what I was supposed to be doing because I know those guys look up to me and a leader can't lead unless he leads by example."
On senior year and importance of a winning season or bowl game:
"It is very important. It's very significant for me to have a chance to go to a bowl game and win a bowl game. I just want the opportunity to get these guys to a bowl game in order to have that experience, and just go out on top. We have the guys, the coaching staff, and everything else in order to do that."
On Boston College:
"Defensively we realize that they are very good up front. Down in the trenches is where they win and lose their ball games. We are going to have to do a good job offensively and defensively to keep our pad level low and just being technically sound. We are going to have to do a good job defensively on their quarterback. We understand that he is really good player and we've seen tape on him. He's very athletic and he's going to win them some ball games. We have to do a good job on their receivers, as well as their running game. We are going to have to be able to stop the run. It's going to be a fight to the end."
