Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
8/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 26, 2008
Press Conference Video: Grobe | Boldin | Curry | Skinner | Smith
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On how the team is feeling going into Thursday's season opener...
"We're just trying to cover everything and make sure we haven't left anything out in preparation. The scariest part is going into a game knowing that you can't cover all the basics in the first game. There's going to be some kicking game mistakes. We'll probably have some turnovers. We'll probably bust some assignments on defense. It's the typical first game kind of stuff that drives you crazy."
On the team being nervous going into the first game...
"You want them to be nervous but not to the extent that it's going to force them to not play full speed or to be cautious. Sometimes you can go out there and not play as hard as you're capable of. That's going to be our goal to see if we can play real hard for four quarters."
On facing an unfamiliar team with a new coaching staff...
"The new coach is the biggest problem. That was a problem for us last year, but at least we knew some of the Boston College players. Unfortunately, we knew (BC quarterback) Matt Ryan pretty good. We don't really have a good handle on the talent at Baylor. We feel like they are a very talented football team. We just don't know what their strengths and weaknesses are. With them having a new coaching staff, we're not really sure what we're going to run into. We've had to prepare for a lot of things and we won't know until the game starts whether we've prepared well or if we have a lot of work to do by halftime."
On the excitement surrounding the football team...
"It puts a little pressure on us. I thought there was some pressure a couple of years ago when we were trying to get some momentum to build Deacon Tower over at the football stadium. With the expectations through the roof for this football team, I think there's a little bit of pressure. I hope we handle it better than we did last year. I didn't think we did a very good job in the opener against Boston College last year. We played a good football team, but I don't think we played very well. We're really just trying to focus the team on taking care of the Deacs. We're trying to make sure that we worry about us and not as much about the team we're playing. I hope we play a better football game to open the season this year than we did last year."
On the health of the team going into the season...
"It's pretty good. It's probably as good as it has been since I've been a head coach. We've really had no serious injuries in August and I think we worked pretty hard. Sometimes I think you can avoid injuries by not working hard. I think we've worked pretty hard. We're a pretty healthy football team. We should kick the season off with a pretty healthy football team."
On the leadership of the senior class...
"They've done a really good job. In the spring, I wasn't really pleased with our seniors. I thought our seniors were just playing and not doing much leading. They weren't talking much with the younger guys. I didn't feel like there was a seriousness there. When we got back in the first part of August, our guys were really serious. I think they didn't see the spring the way the coaches did. This summer, they've been dynamite. I think our seniors have taken a great sense of responsibility for our team. They're really working hard and trying to set a good example by the way they work. I think they've really been encouraging to our freshmen and our younger players. I like the feeling on this football team right now."
Redshirt Senior Cornerback Alphonso Smith
On how excited he is to get the season started...
"I am very excited. I am so tired of seeing those other white jersey across the way. I was telling Riley (Skinner) earlier that I am so happy that we don't have to go against you guys anymore. It's so boring. I'm the excitement is high on the team, around the community and in our coaching staff. I'm just happy. I'm happy to play someone else besides my own teammates."
On how the excitement has changed for the team since his freshman year...
"Coming in as a freshman, I can remember that there wasn't even this many people in this room on Tuesdays. Just to know that people are starting to notice the hardwork and the success that we've had over the past few years is refreshing. It's kind of surreal that people are talking about Wake Forest. ESPN is talking about Wake Forest, which has never happened."
On whether he feels comfortable about where the team is at coming into the season...
"I don't know if you can ever feel comfortable till the end of the season. I am satisfied with how hard we worked over the summer and during the fall season. I happy and excited about our game plan going in and we'll just have to see what happens Thursday night."
On the preseason predictions made by members of the media...
"You never know before the season starts. That's the thing about preseason predictions. You haven't done anything yet. We haven't even played one game. So it's all based off your potential and what we did last year. We have a new team, new style of playing, new coordinators and new freshmen players coming up. So we have to understand that we haven't done anything yet and that we can't relax and be satisfied with the predictions. We have to go out and do it."
On playing a Big XII team in Baylor to open the season...
"We played a Big XII team in Nebraska at the beginning of the season last year. So we expect Baylor to be just as tough as Nebraska was. With them having a new coach in Art Briles, we had to watch film from places where he's coached, and we learned that he is an offensive guru. We know we can't go in and under estimate any of his teams. They play really hard and really smart."
On this being the last year for him and the seniors...
"We all give each other this look like `Oh, this went by really fast.' We know this is our last year and our last chance to leave our mark on Wake Forest. We know that we're the leaders on this team and we know that this team will only go as far as we take them."
On the speed of this year's team...
"I think this is the quickest and best team I've been on definitely. We have two defensive tackles that run like defensive ends. We have safeties that run like corners and linebackers that run like safeties. This is probably the best team I've been on since I've been at Wake."
Redshirt Junior Quarterback Riley Skinner
On his excitement for the season to start...
"I'm pumped. I've been itching to start all week. I'm not itching for the plane ride but we've been going against our same defense for too long. We're sick of seeing them and we're ready to go against someone else. I think we're at a really good place with our offense, defense and kicking game. We're really all on the same page right now and we're ready to get down to Texas and start the season."
On how confident he is with the offensive line...
"I'm really confident in them. I have all of the trust in the world. I know they are going to play their hearts out every snap and that gives you a lot of confidence as a quarterback. They've been playing real well through camp and they're all on the same page. They're all real good buddies and a tight knit group. I think that's helped them communicate well on the field schematic wise. This is probably the most I've ever conversed with the o-line after every play. When we come off the field after a play or a scrimmage, I ask them what they are seeing and they ask me how the protection is and where the pressure is coming from. We are really meshing well together, which I didn't expect to do so well."
On the change in quarterbacks coach from Jeff Mullen to Tom Elrod...
"It's been a little different. Mainly their personalities are different. A lot of the schematics are the same, how the meetings go and watching film, hasn't changed too much. It's been great though. I still talk to coach Mullen a good bit up at West Virginia. We keep in touch a lot, talking about life and a little bit of football every now and then."
On coach Elrod...
"I have a great relationship with coach Elrod, having been recruited by him. He's a lot of fun in the meetings. We can joke around with him a little. He's easy to laugh with but when it comes down to it, he's a smart coach. He's been at the quarterback position and he knows what it takes to win. He's taught us a lot and he's kind of calmed me down this spring and at camp this fall, helping to let me play and then we'll get after it hard in the film room. I kind of like it that way because I don't come off the field and get a mouth full and then it sticks in my head. This way I'm not thinking about what happened the last play and it's allowed me to play with a lot more confidence and poise."
On what he's looking to get out of the game on Thursday...
"A win! I'm really looking forward to seeing how our offense performs. We've done really well on our defense but it's been a defense that's seen our plays for months now. It's going to be interesting to go against a team with a new head coach and a new coordinator. It's almost like we're taking a shot in the dark going against their defense. I'm really looking forward to see how we'll perform. I also want to see how our new guys perform. I'm excited to see Brandon Pendergrass run. We all know Josh (Adams) can do it. So having that duo in the backfield is going to be awesome. Seeing D.J. (Boldin) and Marshall Williams, who is really playing for the first time, and Ben Wooster. We really have a lot of guys that are ready to kind of prove themselves and I'm ready to see them do that."
On Ben Wooster becoming his go-to guy...
"Yes he kind of did during the spring. I think a lot of it was because we never threw to our tight ends as much as we have lately. During the spring, it was new to our defense so it was easy to get him the ball. They started to pick up on that now and we have really started to spread the ball around nicely. I can't really tell you if there has been one go-to guy this whole camp. D.J. has had a really good camp. We threw a lot of balls to him. Ben's had a lot of catches, so has Marshall and even the fullbacks have caught a good amount of balls. We're spreading it around a lot and I think that's going to make it tough on defenses. We just need to execute what we've been coached to do."
On staying grounded amidst all of the people picking them to do so well...
"We know how much those predictions mean. Now we're picked to do well and two years ago, we were picked last in the conference and we ended up winning the conference. That's just kind of a hope and an imagination type thing. People are just throwing names and number out there before anything has happened. Before you even play a down of football, you feel like you should be handed a trophy. That's not it and we know that. I think being on both ends of the spectrum has really helped us stay grounded. We know that we can't let that stuff get to us."
On whether he gets caught up in the numbers...
"No I'm not really a numbers guy. I've always played in an offense that isn't numbers savvy. They aren't orchestrated to get one player unbelievable stats. I'll tell you a win is a lot better than a lot of numbers. We experienced that against Boston College last year. We completed like 76 percent of our passes and had like 400 yards passing but we still lost. Your not going to remember those passing yards, your only going to remember if you won or lost at the end of the season. There are only two numbers that really real mean a lot to me and that's interceptions and wins. I want the wins to be high and the interceptions to be low."
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Aaron Curry
On Wake Forest's preseason rankings...
"It's scary to think that people are giving us all of this preseason hype as opposed to being picked last in the ACC every year. We're just making sure nobody's feeding into the hype. We're making sure everyone's still humble and nobody's getting a big head. They don't give out awards for potential; they give out awards at the end of the season when everybody's proven how good they really are."
On opening the season this Thursday...
"I'm very excited. I've got my butterflies going already. When the ball is kicked off, it's all football. Right now, I'm a little nervous but I'm sure I'll be fine once we kick off. If you ever go into a game and you're not nervous, something's not right."
On playing nonconference opponent Baylor (first time since 1961 the two have faced)...
"I think it gives you more freedom to just fly around and play football. You react to everything instead of doing too much thinking. You can just go out there and play. Once the third and fourth quarter hit, then you have to relax a little and be mentally sharp. But that first half it's all going to be flying around just playing football."
On Wake Forest's football program...
"It's good to see how the program's changed. The program has grown a lot. We're going from maybe filling up the stadium to putting in extra bleachers and people fighting over tickets. It's a good feeling to be part of this change and being part of the history."
On his impression of the offense...
They have looked very good. They've improved and their intensity level has peaked. [The offense] comes out everyday and works hard. They've presented some problems for our defense. Riley's playing pretty well, and the offensive line is not backing down from the `big, bad defense.' I'm excited to see how they're performing."
Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver D.J. Boldin
On opening the season this Thursday at Baylor...
"It seems like just yesterday we played at the Meineke Car Care Bowl. But now we're within two days of gameday and it's very exciting."
On the transformation of Wake Forest's football program...
"I can totally feel the difference from my freshman year when I first came to Wake Forest. Things picked up the Orange Bowl year, and this year with the Meineke Car Care Bowl, but I think this year's going to be our biggest year."
On Wake Forest's preseason No. 23 ranking...
"You want to stay focused. You don't want to brag too much to the outside people. But at the same time, as a team, we know what we can do. There's a lot of camaraderie and the guys are really fired up to come out and play football, so we're pretty excited."
On the role he'll play this season with wide receiver Kenny Moore's departure...
"With Kenny gone they're looking for a guy to step up. I took on that role the spring of last year and I think I carried it over well through the summer. Right now, I think I'm ready. I feel ready for that challenge. Last year, I think I waited a long time for this opportunity but it's here now so I've got to step up."
On his progression and growth...
"I think it bettered me as a person to sit back and watch and humble myself. Kenny and I are great friends so there wasn't any jealousy; it was more of a brotherhood thing. He taught me a lot while he was here, and I talk to him daily now so I think that waiting was very much worth it for me. I also learned the defense better. I think I learned how to be a student of the game, more than just a football player. Even though I played last year, I've had a lot of opportunities to read coverages, know different situations, which holes are available for catches and runs after the catch. I think I learned a tremendous deal as a student of the game last year."
