Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
9/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
September 19, 2006 Press Conference Quotes
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe
On being 3-0:
"The joke is when we had a losing record early (last year) everybody would say that we're the best losing team in the country. The flip side to that is that we're 3-0 and not very good. I think every week we got to go prove ourselves and that's what we've talked to the team about. They understand that to gain respect here you just got to keep winning, so we've got a lot left to do.
On the team's performance without Benjamin Mauk:
"I think people don't take it as seriously as we do is the loss of Ben Mauk. You don't just lose a quarterback that you've prepared as long as we have and throw a rookie in the mix and think you're going to be the same offensively. But there are a lot of ways to win football games. Defensively, I think we've been pretty stingy as far as points; we've probably given up more yards than we like, but we've been pretty stingy as far as points are concerned. Our special teams have been pretty good so far. I think if we play good defense, good special teams and do what we have done in the past offensively, and that's take care of the football, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
On De'Angelo Bryant taking over for Micah Andrews at running back:
"If De'Angelo will stay durable, we don't give up a lot. His problem is he has had a variety of different bumps and bruises that have kept him off the field. Micah has always been really durable until he got this injury at Connecticut. We feel that De'Angelo can certainly do it; he just doesn't have the experience that Micah has."
On the loss of Arby Jones at offensive tackle:
"We have got a very talented group of redshirt freshmen that are backups and I think that Jeff Griffin and Joe Birdsong are very capable of getting the job done for us. Again, they just lack the experience. They're very similar to Riley Skinner. They're going to go out and fight and scrap for four quarters, but certainly we will miss Arby's experience."
On the effect of winning on the road for the team and Riley Skinner:
"I think (the win) was very big for us, especially with a young quarterback. That was an experience for Riley that he'll build on. That was my biggest concern. I felt like he was going to do the job physically, it was just a matter of mentally being able to handle the crowd and all the things that go with playing on the road. Winning on the road certainly was the next step, and will do nothing but help our confidence."
On not getting enough respect for being 3-0:
"I think it's great for our football team to be 3-0 right now, but most people feel like we haven't done a lot. I personally feel like we beat some really physical football teams and beat a couple of them with a young inexperienced quarterback. I want (our players) to understand that there are a lot of doubters out there. We just need to keep winning to make people feel that we have a good football team."
On Ole Miss:
"It'll be the most talented team we've played to date, no question. They have a really talented quarterback in (Brent) Schaeffer who can beat you running and throwing the football; a real good running back transfer from Indiana, BenJarvus Green-Ellis; and maybe the best linebacker in the country in Patrick Willis. Plus a good supporting cast. When you cut the film on them, it's obvious they got great athletes and a lot of talent. This will be our biggest challenge to date."
On playing in Oxford:
"I heard UConn was a tough place and I think it was. I told the players going to Oxford will be tougher. Our guys are expecting a tough environment and a really talented football team."
On playing and preparing for an unfamiliar opponent:
"We may know more about players in our league, but from a scheme standpoint, this will actually be the first game we've played that we've seen more than one film on the team were going against. There aren't going to be a lot of secrets on Saturday. They'll be some trick plays and they'll be some formations and some stunts that we haven't seen. But overall I think we'll have a little better understanding of their schemes than we have had in the first three games."
On Riley Skinner's progression as a starter:
"I think he has got to play smarter. Some of those collisions this past week were because he made some poor choices. He has been welcomed to college football. Now, he knows what to expect physically. Now, we just have got to play a little better mentally.
On taking advantage of Ole Miss' inexperience:
"The thing that jumps at you is how talented they are. It's not anything that going into a game and hope you can take advantage of. You certainly hope they don't put it all together for us. From a talent perspective, you look at the film and it's impressive. They've got a lot of kids who are big and can run, and that always scares you."
Steve Vallos, Senior Offensive Tackle
On being 3-0:
"It's something I haven't felt since high school. Last year we were 1-2 after three games, but 3-0 is just such a good start."
On Wake's improved performance:
"We're just playing better in the fourth quarter this year and winning the games, which is something we haven't done in the past. It's a good thing. We have a lot more older guys playing than we have in the past and that really helps everything. Against Syracuse and UConn, we ran the ball really well in the fourth quarter. With Duke, we came back at the last minute to win the game. Those are things that you get from having a lot of older guys on the field."
On not playing to potential:
"It bothers me that the offense hasn't been playing up to its caliber. We ran the ball for barely any yards last game and had only 11 first downs. It was one of the worst offensive performances we've had since Coach Grobe has been here. I think we have to play better as a unit, having all 11 guys doing their. There's a lot of room for improvement."
On not having both starting quarterback and running back:
"We have a lot of confidence in Riley (Skinner) and if Micah (Andrews) can't go, then D'Angelo (Bryant) is there. We're just going to have to play through injuries and have to have young guys fill in. I think those guys can do it, so we'll be all right."
On not being in the top 25:
"We're flying under the radar. I think we have to win a few more games to get us some top 25 votes."
On Ole Miss:
"They have a lot of good players and a ton of athletic talent. In their first three games, they looked a little inexperienced on the field, but I'm sure they are ready to go this week. It's going to be a different atmosphere, the stadium and on the road. Good things are upcoming."
Kevin Patterson, Sophomore Cornerback
On the excitement of being the first Wake Forest team since 1987 to start 3-0:
"It's really exciting to be a part of something here at Wake Forest. We're not really known for our football program, but rather our basketball team. But we're working hard to turn Wake into a school with a known football program."
On not getting a top 25 vote and still being an underdog:
"It doesn't concern me. As long as we're winning, everybody's excited about that."
On Mississippi:
"The game is on the road and they have a lot of experienced players. They have a lot of junior college transfers with great athletic ability. They're probably the most athletic team we've seen so far."
