Wake Forest Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
9/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2007
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On the attitude in practice this week after a win...
"I think our guys are happy to come away with a win. It was a tough win to come by. I think some of our guys know they didn't play very well last week, so they're probably not as excited as the guys who played well. But it was still good to get a win."
On whether any thought was given to a particularly conservative approach last week...
"Not really. I think that if there was any thought to being conservative, that was thrown out the window after the first quarter. It was obvious we were in a fight. We did all the things that we thought we needed to do to score points and to stop them on defense. As it turned out, we played pretty well defensively, especially in the second half. Offensively, too many mistakes, too many missed opportunities."
On the Riley Skinner/Matt Robinson injury situation...
"Riley threw last night. [He] looks ok. We'll go in pads today and take a little better look at him. I think it's kind of either/or right now. We're not sure if Riley's going to be healthy, and if he's healthy, will he be efficient enough to help us win? And those will be decisions made toward the end of the week. Matt was out there last night. We'll see as we get later on in the week. He's trying to go. I would guess he probably feels ok, but not great, so we'll see."
On the Maryland rivalry...
"It's been a really good game. We haven't been able to make much of a rivalry out of it until last year. That was the first time we had beat Maryland in six years. We haven't beaten them here at our place. We always seem to play them pretty tough, but until last year we always came up short. So hopefully if we can win our share, it can become a good rivalry."
On whether Maryland will be seeking revenge after last year...
"I don't know if you'd call it revenge. I'd say they're probably going to come in pretty determined to get a win against us. I'm sure they didn't like the results last year, so I would think they'd be a pretty determined football team this Saturday."
On Maryland's game against West Virginia...
"I thought they were very competitive against West Virginia. I thought the difference in the game was a couple of big plays by WVU, but other than two or three big plays I thought the two teams were pretty even."
On the implications of this game...
"It's a big game, there's no question. I think the biggest thing for us, having lost to Boston College and Nebraska, it makes every game the rest of the season pretty big. Our backs are against the wall. We've been pushed into a corner a little bit. We'll fight our way out. We're not in a real good position right now, but I think we just have to find a way to win as many games as possible."
On the progression of Brett Hodges...
"As a head coach, you'd like to see the guys go from making a lot of mistakes in the first game to being perfect in the next game. But that's not going to happen. I think he's probably doing as well as he can do right now, with two starts under his belt. He's going to make some mistakes. I would like for him to maybe be more assertive at times. I think at times he's too worried about turning the ball over, which we've probably drilled into his head too much. But we've got to take care of the football at the quarterback position, and I think he'll get more comfortable as he plays more."
On Maryland quarterback Jordan Steffy...
"He impresses me with his ability a lot. He has the ability to run and hurt you running draws and some option stuff. The guy's got a cannon for an arm. He threw some balls over the field in the West Virginia game that were very impressive. You don't see that many kids with that kind of arm strength. So we think he's got a ton of ability and I think Coach Friedgen feels pretty good about him starting to pick up the offensive system. A very, very talented quarterback."
On the Maryland offense...
"I think we're going to see a lot of [Maryland running back Keon] Lattimore, but [Maryland running back Lance] Ball has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards. They've got two really good running backs. Lattimore, a little more athletic, a little quicker. Ball's more of a power back. But they've got two really good running backs that give you a really good change of pace."
On the mentality of the team...
"I think we've been fairly competitive and steady in our effort in our first three games. One of the things that happens in football is that you tend to get banged up a little bit from week to week, and you don't always field the same team every week. And that's where the uncertainty lies. You'd like to think if you could stay completely healthy and all the kids felt good every Saturday, that you'd see some level of consistency and expect to be better each game. But in football, you just don't see the same guys every week. Things can change from week to week and be pretty significant."
Junior DB Kevin Patterson
On the Maryland game...
"It's very important. It's a division game. They're a very good football team. We have to play better than how we've been playing. So we have our work cut out for us."
On this week...
"We're kind of used to not getting respect. We kind of like the underdog role. But Maryland knows they have to come on the road and beat us in our backyard, and we're not going to lay down."
On the defense...
"Coach [Dean] Hood, he's been doing some shuffling around, trying to find our right personnel, and we're up to our fourth game so I think we now have a better understanding of who can do what and who can play where. I respect Coach Hood and we all know he's going to make the right decisions."
On the young guys in the secondary...
"I see a lot of guys with talent out there. Guys just need more reps. The talent is there. It's just little things they need to work on. More film study. Time on the field. Things like that. The depth and talent is definitely there, we just have to put it all together. With the fourth game, I'm expecting big things."
On the pass rush helping the secondary...
"That helped a lot. Especially on third downs. Jeremy Thompson had two sacks in a row. When they get pressure, it forces the quarterbacks to make bad throws. It gets us off the field with three and outs. I like those."
On the Maryland rivalry...
"It's my third year, and every year we've played Maryland it's went down to the wire. They're a real physical team, well-coached. Two well-coached teams, I think that's what it is."
On whether revenge will be on their minds...
"Oh yeah. It's definitely going to be on their minds. If they beat us last year, they go to the ACC Championship and possibly the Orange Bowl. But we won, and we went to the Orange Bowl. So they feel like we took that from them. So they'll definitely have that on their mind."
On the Maryland offense...
"They definitely have a good offensive attack. Up front, their offensive line is huge. Then they have a triple running attack with [quarterback Jordan] Steffy running the ball at the quarterback position. Then they have [wide receiver Darrius] Heyward-Bey and a couple other receivers that can also run the ball. And then they have [running backs Lance] Ball and [Keon] Lattimore. So we have our work cut out for us."
On their offensive versatility...
"It's very difficult because they can keep you off balance. They can fake a run and run a quarterback and get him on the perimeter and do some things, so we have to contain him. It definitely brings an extra task that we need to pick up."
On Maryland's game against West Virginia...
"I got a chance to watch them. They definitely faced a tough, explosive West Virginia team. But they're definitely dangerous from what I saw, and we're going to have to play a good game."
Senior fullback De'Angelo Bryant
On being a fullback...
"It's a little different now. Sometimes I get into that running back mentality every once in a while. But I think that's a good trait to have."
On making the adjustment...
"Truly, it hasn't been that much of an adjustment. Moving from running back, it helps me out a lot. Understanding the different running backs that we have, what their tendencies are, knowing what kind of block I need to make. I think the thing that's gotten to me has been the technique. And watching some film of [injured Wake Forest fullback] Rich Belton and working with Coach [Tom] Elrod has helped me out tremendously."
On the move to fullback...
"Any way I can get in the game and help the team. I just feel more comfortable and more natural at this position, and it's a blessing that I've moved there."
On whether he likes blocking...
"Yeah, I really do. I had a lot of fun knocking some people off their feet last week. Just being in the midst of things, knowing that you can contribute a lot more, it really makes you feel good as a player."
On the importance of this game...
"The importance of this game is that we really need a big win. Losing to Boston College, a lot of people will say that it was only the first game and it was just one conference loss, but we have our backs at the door. Even last season, we were almost in a position after losing to Clemson where we needed some teams to lose. And that's never a good position where you need to sit and wait for another team to lose. This win would put us back in the driver's seat to contend for an ACC Championship again."
On the ACC...
"This is always good football. Lining up every Saturday, you need to be ready to play. I've learned that throughout the years. You can't take anybody lightly, especially in this conference. Each and every year, more and more talent is coming in, and more and more experience is being held at a lot of positions. I think if you look at [Boston College] quarterback Matt Ryan, how far he's come along the past two years. Just look at players on this team and how they've developed over the past few years. So anytime you're playing an ACC school you have to be ready to play."
On whether he expects Riley Skinner to play...
"I really don't know the status of him right now. If we get him back out on the field, that'd be great. If we have Brett Hodges, that'd be great also. Either one of those guys in there, I think they can get the job done."
On the Maryland rivalry...
"In the past, we haven't been that successful against Maryland. Last year was the first time we got a win against them. That game really came down to the wire. We did some good things against them, but we did some bad things too that a lot of people didn't notice. But the main thing that we did do was take care of the football, which we haven't done real well in this three-game stretch. So one of the things we have to do is take care of the football. And we have to make turnovers on defense. And special teams has to be phenomenal. So hopefully we can get this win and get back on track and be in a position to compete for an ACC championship."
On whether revenge will be on their minds...
"I'm pretty sure that'll be one of the things that's going to motivate them this year. Having been a team that was oh-so-close, they probably could have been competing for an ACC Championship and maybe the Orange Bowl. So I'm pretty sure that'll be one of their motivational aspects of their game this Saturday."
On their defense...
"I think this team understands what we have to do. There's not an individual in this sport that we should be intimidated by. They have great players, just like we have great players. They understand that they're coming to town, and we understand that they're coming to town. After the game, that'll determine who's the winner."
On the rest of the ACC...
"Every once in a while, you get a chance to look at a lot of different schools. And it's hard to tell. If you take Georgia Tech's game against Boston College last week, and I had a chance to sit down and watch that. And the way Georgia Tech was playing, they should have beaten Boston College, but that wasn't the case. You just have to be ready to play on any given Saturday. And I think if a lot of teams continue to have that mentality, who knows what can happen on Saturday? We know what Wake Forest has to do. And something that we were good at last year but haven't been very good at this year is taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers on defense and also playing good on special teams. You just need to be ready to play every Saturday."
On this Wake Forest team...
"I think that we, as a team, know we're a lot better than how we've been playing. We've had a very good camp. A lot of players stepped up during camp, and a lot of players have stepped up in the last few games. We just need to step up as a team because we're a lot better than what we're playing."
Redshirt freshman linebacker Hunter Haynes
On finally getting on the field and contributing...
"It's really fun. Just the first game against BC to get in there a little bit was awesome. Because from Pop Warner to high school you're used to playing every year. You don't sit out a season. It kind of nags at you while you're on the sideline. So it was really nice to get in. It was awesome. It was really nice to contribute. The older guys helped me out so I could make some plays."
On the linebacking core...
"We knew we were going to be pretty thin. But coming into this summer, we still had three veteran guys that are great linebackers in Chantz [McClinic], AC [Aaron Curry], and Stan [Arnoux]. So we knew we were going to have good players, but some young guys would have to step up and make some plays. So the older guys took it upon themselves to be great leaders and make sure that we were ready to play."
On the good-natured competition at the linebacker position...
"On any football team, if you're a linebacker, you're competitive from birth. So in the weight room over the summer you're competitive and joking around. It really does make a big difference when guys are competitive with each other and just making each other better."
On feeling better after the win...
"It feels a lot better. We've played hard. We all knew we played really hard in the first two games, but we just didn't play smart. So I think that finally getting a win under our belt is good for the morale of our team. But we know we have a big test coming up this weekend."
On the biggest adjustment getting onto the field...
"Starting off, the first game against BC, it's very fast. But I really think it's just experience. The more and more you're out there it slows down, just like in high school."
On the first home ACC game...
"It's going to be a big one, and we always know that Maryland's going to come in and play us hard. Just like last year, they're a very physical team. They're going to play us hard. And they got some really great players on both offense and defense, so we know we have our work cut out for us."
On what's on the line this week...
"It is a big game because they're in our division. And we know that it's going to be tough, but we need to play well this weekend."
On the Wake Forest defense through three games...
"I think we've played pretty well. We've made some mental errors and things that we really need to fix to be a great defense. But I think that everyone's played hard. And we've got some guys stepping up and playing well, so I'm excited about that. But looking at the film, you always see that you can play better and fixing some things that need to be changed."
On whether studying film translates into what to expect on the field...
"Looking at teams on film, my first game you didn't know what to expect. And then you see an O-lineman, and they're much bigger than you thought. But it's football and practicing against our O-line, you're pretty prepared for what you're going to get."
On the Maryland-West Virginia game...
"Both teams looked pretty good to me. They both have great athletes. That's the first thing I noticed. And Maryland's got some great players and some good running backs, really physical guys that you can tell play hard. And they're going to line it up every Saturday and give it their best."
On Maryland QB Jordan Steffy...
"An athletic QB like Steffy really brings a lot to the table. They have a lot more options with a guy who can run like that. It's going to be tough taking care of a guy who can do two things like that."
