Weekly Football Press Conference Quotes
11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2010
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On what positives he has seen the past few weeks from his team ...
"We're continuing to compete hard. One of the things you worry about when you don't have a lot of seniors on your football team is leadership. Our guys have really worked hard, and we really haven't seen any bad attitudes. When you're getting great effort out of your team - winning or losing - it makes you feel good as a coach. The positive is we have a pretty close football team. We're playing hard each week. We haven't had much success, and that's hard to deal with, but I think our team has handled it really well."
On how to get the players to make plays ...
"We've got to put them in position to make plays, and it starts with coaching. We have to call offensive plays and defensive sets that give you a chance to win. Ultimately the kids have to go make the plays, and sometimes that's an ability thing. We're going against really good teams, and other times we are just trying too hard. At times, we're in position to make plays, but we don't do it because we're a little less confident than we should be. Sometimes when you haven't won enough, that happens."
On the importance of not making turnovers ...
"Turnovers typically end up in a loss. I think if all things are equal, and you have two good football teams playing, if you have one team win the turnover battle, that's usually the difference in the game. We forced a couple of turnovers from Boston College, but they still put the ball on the ground a couple times and we didn't get it. It could have been a big difference in the game if we would have come up with it a couple of the times that they made mistakes. It's hard for anyone in the country to win with five turnovers, especially for a young team playing good competition."
On what NC State head coach Tom O'Brien has been able to accomplish in such a short time with the Wolfpack ...
"Tom has been able to put his plan in. They had a plan heading into the job and they stuck to it, and it's now starting to pay dividends for them. Their defense is playing better this year. Offensively, they have done a good job building their offense around [Quarterback] Russell Wilson. They play hard and disciplined - all of those things that you would expect from one of Tom's teams."
On the importance of getting off to a good start ...
"They have a great crowd. It's a great environment to play football in. It's a little easier for them than it is for the visiting team. Playing good early is important. We talked about that last week, too, but right out of the blocks on the first play we threw an interception, and Boston College took advantage of it and took it right in and scored. You'd hate to start that way on the road. It was tough enough starting poorly at home. Playing at their place, we need to play good, solid football right from the start since that crowd can be pretty hostile, especially if things are going their way."
On NC State QB Russell Wilson ...
"He's as good as anybody we've played this year. The thing that Russell Wilson has, like the other great quarterbacks we've played, is the ability to both run and throw the football. That's what can make a quarterback so dangerous. Russell Wilson competes so hard that he raises everyone else's level. You not only have a very talented kid who can run and throw the football, but he also elevates all the guys around him."
On what a win would do for the team right now ...
"I don't think you could measure it. We've worked really, really hard. I've talked about this before, but in my 10 years at Wake Forest, I've seen our coaching staff work harder this year than ever. Our players have been pushed harder by our coaches this year. We've put in more time and energy than any time in the past. We haven't got much out of all our efforts. We're continuing to work hard. We're not quitting. We're not in wait-until-next-year mode. So a win would be huge, not only for our program, but for our players to gain confidence and to feel like our hard work we've been putting in pays off."
Sophomore Fullback Tommy Bohannon
On whether this is the most frustrating season he's been a part of...
"It is one of the most frustrating in my career, just because of how it's been. Two wins at this point in the season isn't what we thought we were going to have coming in. The team's still working, so I think that we'll be alright as long as we keep the morale up. It seems like we're doing that pretty well."
On how tough it is to keep morale up...
"With this team, it's not really that hard, because we have so many people that have good character and they want to win. We're going to go out and compete every Saturday and try to win the games."
On being the best team in the state by beating NC State...
"That's important for us, because this losing streak has been hard for us. With a win against NC State we could still say that we're the best team in the state. It'd be a good thing for us to have going into next year."
On how big the rivalry with NC State is...
"It gets heated on the field, but I couldn't say that it's a huge rivalry. They are a team that we look forward to playing every year."
Freshman Quarterback Tanner Price
On whether the goal is to improve every game for the rest of the season... "I think it is. I think as a team, game experience is something that you can't simulate, and whether it looks like it or not, we are getting better as a team. I think we're just going to continue to grow."
On the game factors that the team is trying to focus on...
"I think just as a whole we're focused on minimizing mistakes. We don't want to get down on bad plays, and we want to stay positive through the game. We just want to continue to work hard."
On the importance of beating NC State...
"We're trying to treat it like it's no different than any other game. We're just preparing hard this week and working hard in practice. We're going to go out there and do our best against them."
On what is motivating the team right now...
"Probably just continuing to grow as individuals and as a team. We want to finish out the season strong and move with that momentum towards next year."
Redshirt Freshman Safety Daniel Mack
On the challenges of the season so far...
"It's tough, but it's definitely a learning experience. You've just got to know as a program that you're going to have your ups and downs, and you have to trust as a program that we're going to bounce back and get better."
On the difficulties of maintaining a positive team morale after seven consecutive losses...
"You would think it would be tough, but we're a very upbeat team. It's not really hard for us to get up and want to practice because we compete against each other every day at the maximum level, trying to get better."
On the team's motivation factors for the remainder of the season...
"Just to get better and to start preparing for next year. Definitely just to take each game as a chance to get better as a team because this season builds for next year, and there are still three games left on the schedule that we have to compete in as a team."
On the positives of the season...
"We're happy that we've remained a team through all of this negative time, and we're happy that we're still blessed to be able to play this game each and every week. We're also happy that we have three games left to compete in and that the season isn't over yet, and we're happy that we're a hard-working team. We know that we work hard, and we know that we're going to have results sooner or later, and it's good to know that so many young guys will be back next year. The old guys have so much to teach us in these next three weeks."
On the improvement of the defense...
"We definitely want to keep getting after it as a defense, and that speaks back to us wanting to improve in practice every week. We're seeing ourselves starting to work towards our goal, but we just have to keep working at it. We're not where we want to be yet."
On the upcoming challenges against N.C. State this weekend...
"We know N.C. State has a great offense, great execution, and a good coach. Russell Wilson is a great player in his own right, and they have two young running backs that are good. They're just a real good team overall. They do a really good job executing, so we just have to come with our A game."
On N.C. State quarterback Russell Wilson...
"He's definitely in the top tier of all quarterbacks. With his scrambling ability, and his ability to make plays after the pocket breaks down, you can tell that he has a great grasp on the game."
Redshirt Freshman Safety Duran Lowe
On the difficulties of maintaining a high team morale...
"It's difficult, but the upperclassmen keep our heads up. We just have to keep pushing forward and keep our heads up, but we're just looking forward to next year. As a young athlete, I'm learning from game to game, and the team is getting better as a whole as we go through the season."
On the expectations against N.C. State and Russell Wilson...
"Russell Wilson is a really good athlete, so we're going to have our hands full. We've got to come with our A game. From the statistics, he (Wilson) is the best quarterback."
Redshirt Junior Offensive Tackle Dennis Godfrey
On the challenges of maintaining a positive team morale...
"What we work for all season is to go to a bowl game, but most importantly an ACC Championship, but since that's out of the question right now, it is hard to keep the morale up. At the same time, we still have an opportunity to finish 5-7 instead of 2-10, and that's really important to us right now. We have an opportunity to compete and to carry it over into next season, as well."
On building for next year with such a young team...
"It really carries over into next season for us because we have a lot of young guys. We have six seniors on scholarship right now, but at the same time, we've got a lot of guys training for next year, so carrying into next season will give us the opportunity not only to compete for bowl games but for the ACC Championship again."
On the rivalry with N.C. State and his personal ties...
"I have a lot of family that goes to N.C. State, so this game really is important to me as a pride issue. N.C. State did recruit me, but Wake Forest was a better fit for me academically and athletically, as well. Jim Grobe sold it to me."
On the atmosphere at Carter-Finley Stadium...
"It's a great place. It's loud and it's hard to hear things, but at the same time it's going to be our responsibility to communicate as players to each other about the different offensive schemes and defensive schemes that they try to throw at us."
On the importance of taking the crowd out early...
"That's going to be really important, because once you take the crowd out it's hard for them to get back into it. They're going to have their highs, we'll have our highs, but at the same time you can't be willing to just lay down when something bad goes against you. That's one thing that really happened to us against Boston College. We responded to adversity, but we just couldn't capitalize on those opportunities."
