Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
11/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2006
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the excitement of this game:
"Coaches' enthusiasm is always less than the players because coaches always worry about what goes wrong. I am certainly excited, but, at the same time, it is important to stay grounded."
On the surprise of this season:
"I tried to tell people that we were a good football team. If you were to tell me that we would lose Ben Mauk and Micah Andrews and still win nine games before we even played the last game, then I would have been kind of skeptical."
On focusing on bowl position:
"We certainly worry about that. However, in reality, all of our energy has to be geared towards Saturday. That is all that can matter to us at this point. Obviously, we are concerned about our bowl position, but, we just need to focus on winning this weekend."
On being a father to his players:
"I always tell people how you would like to have 100 18-22 year old kids. But we certainly have an open door policy. Not just me, but all of my coaches. That is one of our most important jobs: to help these boys off the field and care for them."
On the whether or not he will see the Marshall movie:
"I certainly want to see the movie. It will be very hard for me because I have friends that were involved in that tragedy. So to answer your question, I want to see it, but, I don't know when I will be able to see it. I don't know if this is the right time."
Steve Vallos, Senior Tackle
On the running game being different because of the injuries:
"It's not that different at all scheme-wise. It's a just a different guy back there, they have different styles of running. Whoever we put back there, we block the same way. We make holes and they find them."
On the upcoming Maryland game:
"I'm very excited. We control our own destiny and that's something not all teams have left at this point. They're a really good team. I think they had a bump in the road, like we did. We just have to come fired up. We always seem to play terrible against them. If we have a good week of practice, we should be set to go against them on Saturday. Hopefully, we can beat them for the first time since I've been here."
On the magnitude of Saturday's game:
"If we lose this game, we'd really drop down. Any other game doesn't really matter at this point. It's all on the table this week. Coach said to go out and play as hard as you can. If we take care of business, we go to the championship."
Patrick Ghee, Senior Safety
On the ACC Championship and Maryland:
"I'm very excited. We're playing for the ACC Championship (berth) against a team that we haven't beaten in awhile. You prepare all year long for this. Some people thought it was a lofty goal, but we've wanted to go to the ACC Championship. Beating Maryland, we'll do that."
On having such a successful season:
"It's a great feeling. I don't like to think of it as a strange feeling. Even though we've accomplished a lot of good things this season, to me as a senior, it doesn't mean as much unless we go to the ACC Championship."
On increased expectations:
"That's one reason why I came to Wake, to bring the program up. We believe in Coach Grobe, his staff, and knew his program was on the rise. This year, we've been able to accomplish things that we haven't in the past."
On the differences between this season and last:
"In previous seasons, we lost the game and when you lose, it's demoralizing to the team. The fact that we came off with such a strong start to the season, the possibility of winning the ACC was a definite possibility."
On Coach Grobe:
"Coach Grobe and his staff prepare us every game to win. I think Coach Grobe's best asset is his character. Every game I go out with the understanding that I'm going to play my hardest, because I have a coach that cares about me."
