Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
9/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 5, 2006
Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe
On Ben Mauk:
"We've paid a lot of dues with Ben his first couple of years. We finally had him in a place where he had matured and made good decisions. He made a couple of bad throws (on Saturday), but as far as his decision-making, he did a good job. That's what you worry about with the young guys."
On Riley Skinner taking over at quarterback:
"We feel absolutely confident in Riley Skinner's ability, it's just the game experience that he lacks. So that's what we have to find out. I have a feeling he's going to fine. We just have to get out there and play."
On the team facing adversity:
"We always talk to the kids about adversity. You know it's coming, you just don't know when it's going to be. Whether it's a bad call that hurts you, a fumble, an interception or something along those lines, I talk to the kids about that all the time. But the one thing you don't want to ever see is a bad injury, especially to your quarterback. An injury to any player is something you don't want to see, but especially not to a quarterback."
On the team rallying behind Riley Skinner last Saturday:
"The kids rallied pretty quick. Our offensive guys rallied around Riley. Our defensive kids got together and realized their responsibility had just gone up quite a bit. It was just great to see the kids rally around Riley Skinner. They kind of immediately took that upon themselves. We have to maintain that attitude."
On Riley Skinner's preparation in preseason practice:
"The one good thing about the `ones' going against the `twos' is that he (Riley Skinner) was always going against the ones, so he got smacked around a little bit and got his feet wet going against pretty good players. So I think there's a little bit of a comfort zone right now because he feels like he's been going against good people and really been successful. I think he does have some self-confidence, but I also think he has confidence from the team that he can get the job done because they've actually got to watch him do it."
On the timetable for Ben Mauk's recovery:
"My goal right now is to get Ben completely healthy and have a great fifth year as a senior. Then if we're fortunate enough to get another year, that would be great. But right now our whole goal is to get him healthy for next season."
On carrying so few quarterbacks on the roster:
"We do not want to have a quarterback not have the opportunity to play. We're really careful about not bringing in too many guys. We'd really like to have a quarterback in every class. You'd like for him (a quarterback) to when he starts to become a sophomore or junior that he's getting some snaps, and by the time he's a fifth-year guy that he's the guy. Ultimately that's where we would like to go with our quarterback situation--that they play some when they're younger but by the time they're in their fourth of fifth year, they're the guy."
"Right now we have things spaced out pretty good with Brett (Hodges) and Riley (Skinner). I've always felt like those two could play together because they're both very talented and have run our offense very well. Before Brett got hurt (this preseason), they were going back-and-forth. It was kind of a day-to-day thing; whoever practiced the best got to slide up a little bit."
Riley Skinner, Quarterback
On the Syracuse game:
"It was definitely not the way I wanted to come into the game. It was something that nobody on our team wanted to see. Ben was playing great during the game, playing great all summer and fall, and really made huge steps. It was just something we didn't want to see. His going down for that ball really helped us win on Saturday. Unfortunately, he had a bad injury. We're going to have to make big steps coming back from that. Our coaches have a good enough game plan to get us a win every week but every game is going to be tough. Duke has great defensive talent. We're going to have to be on our "A" game to get the win. Manage the game, handle the ball, that's what I need to do."
On his preparation as a back-up:
"Going into every week in the number two spot, the coach expects you to know as much as everybody on the field. Unfortunately, one play and anybody can get thrown in there. (Offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke) Lobo and (quarterbacks coach Jeff) Mullen have emphasized getting the offense down and being fluid. Brett Hodges and I, we've been able to help each other out. I think we've been able to help each other out a lot and get the offense down. We just do what our coaches ask and I think we'll be able to get a win on Saturday."
On going in unexpectedly:
"First, it was hard to settle in with what was going on. The first couple plays got that out of my system. I settled down and I think on Saturday, we're going to do what the coaches ask: not to make huge plays every time, but to settle down and run things. We've got a heck of a defense, one of the best in the league. I think we have a whole good group of guys that have the same goal in mind. There aren't any superstars on this team, we all just want a win."
On confidence in himself and his teammates:
"On Saturday, nobody on the team held their head or pointed fingers. They all had confidence in our offense, our coaches and knew that whoever was going in would be able to lead the team to a win. We spend a lot of time studying our opponents and listening to our coaches. Everybody knows in the ACC that no team is easy. We just have to take care of the ball and manage the team. If we do this, I know we can come out with a win.
On playing Duke:
"Duke played us really tough a couple years ago. I don't think being over confident is something that we have to worry about.
Bryan Andrews, Defensive End
On losing Ben Mauk to injury:
"As soon as he (Mauk) went down, we knew we had to step it up one more level. We were playing well, but we knew we had to step it up. The offensive line kept telling us to step it up. Coach Grobe told us (defensive line) that the game was on our backs now. We didn't have a choice, we had to come out and play hard.
On Riley Skinner entering the game:
"We had confidence in Riley. We told him `you're our quarterback now, you have to handle the offense.'"
On playing Duke:
"In the years that I've been here, they've always had good teams, good talent. They really like to play us."
On high expectations of the defense:
"We're having so much fun. It doesn't seem like a job at all. After tackles, I see guys smiling, celebrating, jumping up and down. It's been fun. We're a veteran defense and that helps us understand more stuff now. We're no longer freshmen and sophomores, things don't catch us off guard anymore."
