Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2006
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the long layoff between games:
"Well I think it's an advantage from an injury standpoint. We need to get some people healthy, especially our running backs. The time off lets our kids finish finals, get to spend some time with their families and then we'll get back together and practice. I typically don't like open dates, but in this case I think it will really help us."
On if he thought Wake would get to the Orange Bowl:
"There's an honor code here at Wake Forest so I have to be honest with you. I thought we would be a good football team, and I thought we'd have a great chance at going to a bowl game. But to think we would win 11 games and go to the Orange Bowl is a little bit of a stretch, I think especially after we lost Ben (Mauk) and Micah (Andrews)."
On playing in the Orange Bowl:
"We're honor and delighted to be in the Orange Bowl. What a great opportunity for our football program and our University. We're just now starting to be able to enjoy it a little bit. In the past four or five weeks, we've won some pretty big games, but we couldn't enjoy it because we had another one waiting for us the next Saturday. This is a really good time for not only the team and the coaches but for the fans as well."
On the team:
"I think not only in the Orange Bowl, but in future years we're going to have to prove that we're here to stay. I don't know that we'll have years like this every year, but I think the key for Wake Forest football right now is to not be satisfied with where we are and to continue to try and be a better football team each time out."
On representing Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl:
"Words really can't describe it. You grow up as a kid dreaming about playing in the Orange Bowl and then as a coach you dream about coaching in it. Both for our players and our coaches, we've all achieved a lot of dreams by securing an Orange Bowl bid."
If this is the pinnacle of his career:
"Yeah, it is. As an assistant coach I was able to do some pretty cool stuff. As a head coach I'm proud of some of the seasons we've had and some of the wins we've had. But for this team, with all the adversity we had to win a conference championship and get to the Orange Bowl, it feels pretty good."
On the team's preparations:
"I don't know how you prepare you for a team like the (Louisville) Cardinals. As far as our preparation, this is a week off for us because the kids are in exams, and then they'll have off next week as well to spend some time with their families. We'll spend about a week before Christmas practicing and then meet back up at the bowl site. We're actually in Miami for a week before the game and we'll be practicing down there, so that ought to be fine."
On the season's turning point:
"I think the blocked field goal against Duke was big. The second half of that game was kind of Riley Skinner's coming out party. He played really well. We really did not want to have to count on him to win the game, but he came through. Some wins early in the season were huge. The win that kind of catapulted us to be able to think about winning a conference championship was the Boston College game. I thought we beat a really good BC team. When we won that game, I think the kids starting thinking that we might be in this for all the marbles, and that got us pumped up and looking forward to possibly playing in the championship game."
Larry Wahl - Orange Bowl Committee
On the excitement surrounding Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl...
The Orange Bowl is extremely excited to have Wake Forest. This is probably not just the best story in college football but the best story in sports this year. A team that was picked for last place in their division loses their starting quarterback, loses their starting running back and the next thing you know they've gone through their division, they've won their division and they're in the ACC Championship game and they've won it. So to have them down in Miami at the Orange Bowl is going to be a treat for us and a treat for everybody up here.
On the time leading up to Jan. 2...
"Our people are very prepared for the game. They spend all year getting ready. There is a contingent from Wake Forest down meeting with the Orange Bowl people right now, going through the operations, going through the day-to-day what they'll have to do, seeing everything that takes place, running through the manual, doing site visits, checking out the hotel and the practice facilities. Wake Forest will get their team ready here and then on December 27 we'll be prepared for everybody's arrival."
On the timetable of the current bowl system...
"One of the great things about the bowl system is that it allows the student-athletes to first go through finals and then once they're through finals they can get their preparation done. The teams that make bowls get probably an extra two to three weeks of practice. So if you go through that in a four-year cycle of student-athletes they're getting all that extra practice. They're becoming that much better, and a lot of times that really helps the programs."
On having non-traditional football schools in this year's Orange Bowl...
"We find that having schools that haven't been to our game or aren't used to traveling to bowl games that the excitement around the cities is tremendous. They tend to sell more tickets. They tend to come with more enthusiasm. It really creates a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around the bowl game itself."
On Wake Forest fans traveling to Miami...
"I was told that (Wake Forest fans) traveled very well to Jacksonville, and everybody who was there, I've been told, is ready to go to Miami. I was also told that a lot of people decided to forego the Jacksonville trip because they thought they wanted to wait for the Miami trip. We were on campus yesterday and walked through 'The Pit' where everybody was having lunch, and I'd say 90-95 percent of the students said they were coming."
Riley Swanson
On his mood this week...
"The mood today is definitely still the same as it was Saturday after the game. I'm still trying to soak a lot of things in, still trying to figure out what actually went on. It's still unbelievable that we won the ACC. The most exciting thing is winning something you really weren't expected to win. It's one thing to win something that you're expected to win, but winning the ACC Championship, which we weren't expected to win, is just a great feeling. We're still very excited right now."
On growing up watching the Orange Bowl...
"I definitely remember the Orange Bowl when I was little. The Orange Bowl is a BCS bowl shown at a time where a lot of people are sitting at home spending time with their family. It's just something that little kids dream about their whole entire life. To finally have the opportunity to play in a BCS game in the Orange Bowl on a great stage is just incredible."
On the advantages to playing in a bowl game...
"Playing in bowl game, a lot of good things come from it. One, just the national exposure is great. Just for the entire program. It shows Jim Grobe is a great coach. It shows the players that we have. In addition, it does give us more time to practice and develop our players, some of our younger players in the program to be able to get in extra practices. It's just a good time to spend with the team and develop camaraderie. Me being a senior, it just makes the process longer and more enjoyable, so I'm very excited."
On whether he'd like to play the game right now...
"I like that we get to think about it and get to prepare a little bit. Preparing for Louisville is definitely going to be a task which will take time. They have a very explosive offense, great team, great athletes. I'm sort of glad we have time to soak everything in and get ready for football the next couple of weeks."
On the break before the Orange Bowl...
"I think this break right now is just great to take a look back on the season and enjoy all our wins. Finally we get to take a deep breath and exhale. During the season we'll play a tough team, and the next week we'll have to play another tough team. So just having a break to soak everything in is much-needed and right on time."
On practicing for the bowl game...
"Practice for the bowl game will be just as normal as during the regular season. We're going to get after it pretty hard. We still want to show people what this team is all about. It's another opportunity to show that we're a great team, great coach, great athletes. We just want to go out there and put on a good performance for the Orange Bowl."
On earning respect this year...
"I think we've earned a lot of respect over the entire season, especially after winning the ACC Championship. That earns a lot of respect right there. Just to show national coverage, there's still more work to do, drilling into people's heads that we are a good football team this season."
Jamil Smith
On still being on cloud nine after Saturday...
"I'm working my way up to cloud nine because week to week we've been working on the next victory or working on a loss we're recovering from. We have not been able to enjoy each victory that we've had over the season, so I think I'm still caught up in that week to week treatment."
On the team's accomplishment...
"I think it's a great thing for team because we've been holding each other together basically with duct tape. We've had numerous injuries on the team and people playing hurt the whole season."
On the campus atmosphere...
"I've been here through the 4-7 seasons when we weren't that great. The campus has changed just to see it like it is now is just a great experience because we've witnessed the basketball team go through it. We've witnessed the field hockey team go through it. Now us experiencing it is just a great feeling."
On dealing with finals...
"It's tough because we feel like school should be over, but we still have focus on being a student because that's the other side of being a student-athlete."
On being able to enjoy the ACC Championship victory...
"I felt like we've been going through season with tunnel vision just focusing on the next game and the next week. Now to just be able to sit back and look at the things we've accomplished while at the same time getting ready to play in a prestigious bowl is just a great feeling as a player."
