Quotes and Video from Football Press Conference
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 24, 2009
Press Conference Video: Grobe | Hoag | Jones | Russell | Skinner
 Jim Grobe  | |
On what the team worked on during the bye week...
"Rest was one thing. It gave our guys a chance to get their legs back under them a little bit and get back to academics for a few days. It gave us a chance to rest and refocus."
On wrapping up the season...
"It's been a tough year. I think the year slows down a little bit when you're not having success. We've had five really tough losses that we had a chance to get and didn't get any of them. It's been a tough season from the standpoint that you're trying to regroup every week. But at the same time 11 straight weeks go pretty quick."
On if he would have done some things differently...
"You don't even look at it as what you would differently as a season, but game to game. Every time you come back in on Sunday and watch your team play you look at things that you've called and the way you coached the team and you think there's always a better way to do it, and that's whether you win or lose."
Scouting Duke...
"Last week the impressive thing was they ran the ball well against Miami. Thaddeus Lewis is one of the top quarterbacks not only in the ACC but the country. They have a great group of receivers, I like a lot of things they do offensively. They give you a lot of problems."
"Defensively they are real physical, they've got key players that are making a ton of plays for them right now. They are tough and aggressive in the way they chase the football. I really like their defense."
"They are very well coached. I think having the staff back for a second year, having a little bit of continuity has really helped them. You see it everywhere, every position you see improvement. They are used to the scheme and you can tell that the athletes are comfortable doing what they are asked to do offensively and defensively and in the kicking game. They've got an awful lot of talent but the coaches are doing a really good job with what they've got."
On Head Coach David Cutcliffe...
"This is one of the better coaches in the country. What he's done at Ole Miss, what he's done as an offensive coordinator and an assistant coach. He's had a really impressive career. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that he's doing a great job at Duke."
On the Wake Forest - Duke series...
"We've been lucky to win some of them. We've had some barn burners that have gone right to the wire, we've gone to overtime, we've had last second field goals and things like that. It's been a really tough series for us and we've been fortunate to have won some of them."
On the graduating seniors...
"More than great players we've got great kids. We've got guys that we feel really close to, that we've developed a good bond with. For the most part we're going to miss the football ability with these guys but more importantly we are going to miss them as people. After guys have been with you for five years they become more like your sons than your players."
"We've been doing it for a long time. The good news is [the graduated players] are not gone. They do come back. Most of the players get back for at least a game and we have a chance to bump into them from time to time. But you've just got to move on. It's exciting for them because they are going to have great careers whether it's going to be in the next level in football or taking their degree and using it. We've got some good young players coming along. On one hand it's really sad to lose the old guys but at the same time it's exciting to get going with the younger guys."
On playing seniors vs. younger players in the last game of the season...
"Fair is playing the guys that are playing the best. Quite frankly there are some young guys that are playing well enough that are going to get more playing time on Saturday and it's just because they're playing well. We're not into making any statements about the seniors not playing as much because we haven't achieved a bowl game or the young guys playing if they don't deserve it. We're going to play guys that deserve to be on the field and guys that give us the best chance to win a football game."
On recovering from tough losses during the season...
"The players tend to bounce back better than coaches. For coaches it hasn't been a roller coaster in terms of playing great one week and bad the next. We've really played pretty good football this year. We just have been maybe the unluckiest team I've ever been associated with. I never thought we'd have five games go down to the last possession and not come away with any of them."
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On the bye week...
"We had a good design by the coaches. After the game, we had three off days Monday-Wednesday. We still lifted and had film study. The focus was on putting Florida State behind us and getting right on Duke. We know they're a good team just by looking at the film. We've never had an easy game with these guys. It's always down to the last minute. The week was spent focusing on playing a good Duke team and doing everything we can to come out with a victory on Saturday."
On the spirits of the team...
"They're actually pretty good. Guys understand that we're out of bowl contention. As coach Grobe told me yesterday, this is the time where you find out who loves the game and who wants to play. We're just playing for ourselves because we're football players and our coaches are coaches and we go out and try to win and do the best we can. Everybody is really focused on that and I think everyone has had a really great attitude in spite of the loss on Saturday."
On becoming the winningest senior class in school history...
"It's something special and something we want to do. That's just another reason to go over to Durham and try to play a great football game."
On his fondest memory at Wake Forest...
"I probably don't have just one. It's a bunch of little things. Just being around the guys and the team. You'll never forget the people. As much as people want to talk about the ACC Championship and all the bowl games, it's the people day-to-day in the operations and on the team that make this place special and really make it a group of fond memories.
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On ending his career with a season like this...
"It's pretty frustrating to know that this is how we're ending but we still have one game left. We still want to end on a good note for our team. We could be the winningest class which would be great a great goal to attain for this last game. But we just want finish on a high note. Even though last week was tough against Florida State, for us seniors, we just want to finish-up with a really good win. For me, it would be a win against the first team I started against which would be pretty neat to go out like that. In terms of the season, it's been pretty disappointing but that's football. That's the way it goes sometimes. We have lost some pretty heartbreaking games but it's good to know that we played our hearts out. It's been tough but we're looking to end on a good note."
On his fondest memory at Wake Forest...
"In general, I would have to say being in the locker room is something that I will never forget. Before practice, after practice, during two-a-days, during the grueling winter conditioning and during games. Those are the memories I will remember the most. The relationships I have built with the guys on the team will be what I will miss most. Being around those clowns everyday was great. From a football standpoint, obviously, going to the championship game was great but I will always remember the come from behind wins we've had. The win over Ole Miss, Maryland my sophomore year and the Stanford game this year. I still think the most exciting game I've been apart of was the Maryland game my freshman year to go to the conference championship. In terms of the entire game, the momentum of the game, the atmosphere, that was something I will never forget.
On having a chance to become the winningest class the last six weeks now...
"I'm getting tired of answering that question. It's definitely something that we want as a senior class and we have one chance to get it so this is going to be the test. Unfortunately, it's not going to be an easy game. We're playing a really good team in Duke. It's going to be their senior's final home game. So it's going to be an emotional game. We've been working really hard to get ready for it."
On this being the first ACC game against two 9,000-yard passers...
"It's pretty neat that Thaddeus' (Lewis) I's first starts came against each other. Now we're ending our career going against each other. He's a class act guy. I've always had a lot of respect for him with the way he plays, the way handles himself and the way he leads his team. It's going to be fun going against a quarterback like that for my last game."
On if this is really a rivalry with Duke being Wake has beaten them nine times in a row...
"The last three year's we've played them it's gone down to the wire. One went into overtime, we had to block a field goal in one and we played them over there and they made a big comeback. We had to recover an onside kick to win the game. It's a big rivalry for us. It's a battle of two pretty similar teams. We both come from undersized schools and have some over-looked recruits that really are good players. It's a fun little rivalry, I really enjoy it."
On if it's hard to believe this is the last time he puts on the black and gold...
"It is. I don't want to think about too much but it's pretty wild to think that all this is coming to end. As sad as it's going to be, there have been a lot more happy moments than sad moments. I've just been blessed the last four and a half years to play for a coach like coach Grobe and being able to play with some of the greatest players to even come through here has made it four years I will never forget."
On the prospects of playing in the NFL...
"I don't really deal with that too much. After this week I might start thinking about that and putting some attention towards that but right now, I don't want to hear that we could have been the winningest class ever. I want that question to be answered this week and the seniors want to end on a good note. I will look into that after the season but right now, we need to get this win."
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On how tough it is to end his career this way...
"It's been very tough. When I first came in, we were having a season like this but we were kind of on the rise and were looking toward the future and building on that and then we were able to go on and win the ACC Championship and go to three-straight bowl games. It's tough, especially being a senior, ending on a let down and not going to a bowl game and not having quite the season we had hoped. I feel like we have a good team. We came out on the losing end a few more times than we would have liked but guys are playing hard. I said at the beginning of the year, if I can go out and play hard every week and have everyone else go out and battle hard, than that was all I could ask for. I stick by that today. I'm just happy that I got to play with the guys and good or bad, I love them and I'm proud of them."
On going out with a win...
"We try to not think about it as much but it would definitely be an honor to go out as the winningest class, especially for a little while because next year's seniors have a chance too. It would be an honor, especially with some of the classes that came through here. Last year's class with Aaron Curry, Chip Vaughn and those guys. Those were some great football players and they had a lot of great players in that class. So to be up with those guys and to be the winningest class is something we'll definitely be proud of. But we have to go out Saturday and play a tough Duke team and try to get it done."
On his fondest memory here at Wake...
"It has to be my teammates. The bonds I've made and the guys I have been able to meet, like Dominique Midgett and Riley Skinner. We're all like brothers. We have spent more time together over the last four years than we have spent with our own families. This is my family now and it's going to be really tough to walk off the field on Saturday and to know that it will be the last time I play football with those guys. Those are my fondest memories. Being in the locker room with those guys and going through two-a-days and practices, good and bad. Those are my fondest memories of Wake Forest."
On stopping Thaddeus Lewis...
"He's really good. He's a great quarterback. He kind of reminds of (Josh) Nesbitt from Georgia Tech as far as a big, strong, athletic quarterback. He throws the ball really well. He doesn't rely on his athletic ability but he has a lot of it and he can use it to get him out of trouble. He's definitely going to be priority number one in stopping their attack. If we don't, it's going to be a really long day defensively. We have to try to slow him down and get some pressure on him and try to frustrate him. Hopefully we can get some momentum and keep them off the scoreboard."
On the rivalry with Duke...
"We've beaten them nine times in a row but ever since I've been here, it's always been a really close game. I remember the ACC Championship year we had to block a field goal just to clinch the game and then last year we had the over time thriller. It's always a good game. I think we are a bigger underdog in this game then they are. They have a better record than we do and they have a better conference record than we do. They're the favorites in this game. I expect it to be another knock-down, drag-out, slugfest and it should be a good game."
