Orange Bowl Press Conference -- December 28, 2006
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 28, 2006
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe met with the media early Wednesday morning. Below are a few of his responses to questions from Winston-Salem, Miami and Louisville media.
On the injury situation
"Kevin Harris (knee injury), we hope to have him ready by game time. Kenneth Moore (shoulder) is very important to what we want to do on offense and we are hoping he'll be ready to go. Nate Morton is a big concern with his finger (injury). We'll have to see how he does in practice this week."
What does the Orange Bowl appearance mean to the program?
"I am not sure we can tell what it actually means for our future. We've never had a problem selling Wake Forest University. Moms and dads want their kids to come to Wake Forest. The hard part, quite candidly, has been selling the football program as a place where kids can accomplish all they dream about on the football field. Now that we've won an ACC championship and are in the Orange Bowl, the football part of it is easier to sell."
On Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm
"He's probably the best quarterback that we've faced this season. I thought Matt Ryan of Boston College was very good. Brian really manages the offense well. He has the underneath stuff. He has a great supporting cast, great offensive line and receivers. He is a great quarterback, but he has great people around him."
On Zach MacDowall imitating Brahm on the scout team
"Zach MacDowall is a good-sized kid who has great arm strength. All year long he's been a challenge for our defense. I don't know if anyone can simulate Brian Brohm, but Zach does a good job and really challenges our defense."
On the success of this year's team
"The credit has to go to our players. We have a mature football team. I don't know if we have any superstars on the team, but we have a really good football team. It's just a group of guys you enjoy taking the field with on Saturday. It's just a good group of kids who like to play football. It's just been as easy team to coach. It's been rewarding from a coaching standpoint to see guys who have paid a lot of dues and have a lot of setbacks put it together. We have guys who genuinely like one another."
How have the Deacons been so good at intercepting passes
"All coaches would like to say that they teach that stuff and we certainly work hard to force turnovers on defense. We've got some good defenders and we've been in the right place at the right time. We faced a lot of teams who like to put it in the air a lot and that's part of it. We've also been fortunate that our players have taken advantage of opportunities. The ball has bounced our way a few times."
On the Louisville offense
"I think the thing that is so scary about the Louisville offense is that they have the ability to score in bunches. You can be playing pretty well and find yourself down 21-0. They've done a nice job of replacing Bush at running back. They do a nice job running the ball. They are not one-dimensional and that is what drives defensive coordinators crazy. When you are good on defense you give the offense a lot of opportunities. That's the missing element here is that they are a pretty good defensive football team too. Their offense is certainly one of the most potent in college football."
On the grand plan to build the program
"Most coaches come into a program, especially if you are trying to build a program, and you have a plan. We learned a lot at Ohio University. We played too many true freshmen. We always wondered what it would have been like if we had those guys as fifth-year seniors. To be competitive in the ACC we felt like we had to have a mature, older team. I'm really blessed to have an athletic director (Ron Wellman) that meets with me at least one per week. He's done even more than he has promised. The football coach and AD are on the same page."
Is Wake Forest becoming a `football school'?
(Laughing) "Well, I think we are starting to do our part. Wake Forest has for many years been successful in almost every sport, but we had been lagging behind a little in football. We have great coaches. There's not a better basketball coach in the country than Skip Prosser. We are starting to fit in a little bit. If you talk to a guy like Skip Prosser he's probably as excited as anyone at Wake Forest about what we've done this season."
