Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Football Holds Media Day
8/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 13, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest football team held its annual media day event on Saturday afternoon on campus in the Miller Center. The Demon Deacons met with members of the print, radio and television media to discuss the upcoming season.
The squad held a morning practice on Saturday at the Doc Martin Football Practice Complex and attended team position meetings in the afternoon.
The Deacons will have Sunday off and return to the field on Monday for the first of three scheduled preseason scrimmages. Monday's scrimmage begins at 9:30 a.m. at BB&T Field. Admission is free and is open to the public.
Head Coach Jim Grobe
On last year...
"We're disappointed in the way we played. Our guys want a fresh start; they want to get going so we're not spending any time talking about last year. We're looking forward to the coming season. Our guys know we didn't achieve what we wanted to last year, so we're excited to get started again."
On having a solid starting quarterback...
"Tanner is much more experienced. He's a little stronger. He's a little sharper mentally obviously with the time we put in with him. It's just a different feel out there right now. That's not to say that Tanner's not going to have competition. He's going to have to continually earn that position. Riley Skinner, as good as he played for us, was just a `manage the game' guy when he was a redshirt freshman. Tanner had a lot on his plate last year."
On moving on from last season...
"I think sometimes you have to stumble a little bit before you appreciate things. I don't know that we were a complacent football team the past couple of years, but we had quite a bit of success. And I think one of the things that happens when you have success is sometimes you take things for granted. This football team is not taking anything for granted."
On opening the season at Syracuse...
"They (Syracuse) are a bowl team from last year. We've got nine bowl teams from last year on our schedule. It's going to be a great challenge for us. I know they think they're going to be pretty good. They think they might challenge for the Big East championship. So it's a little bit of a problem for us as coaches because typically most of your mistakes are made in those first couple of weeks. Usually in the kicking game there's some mistakes made. It's easier to turn the ball over and give up big plays, things like that. It will be tough being on the road against a quality football team to start the season. You'd like a couple layups against teams you think you could make a lot of mistakes and still win. But that's just what we have. We open with one of the best teams in the Big East at their place and then we come home to one of the best teams in the ACC in NC State. Right out of the blocks we have to play good football. As much as we'd like to win those football games, we're going to have to play really good to do it."
On what has changed from last year...
"We're a better team. We're better players. We have a good group of seniors this year. We have a real small group of seniors. The guys who played as freshmen last year--13 of them, including three true freshmen and 10 redshirt freshmen started at least one game--they're tough, crusty sophomores now so we're more veteran there. Just talent-wise, we're a better football team. But I think more importantly, we're better chemistry-wise. Our guys like each other. They enjoy knocking each other down, but they tend to help each other up. In practice no matter how intense the competition has been, our guys like each other. It's a good feel. I've been doing this now over 35 years and this team has a good feel to it. I like this group of guys."
On getting back to the success of a few years ago...
"I think we're just naturally going to get back there. You go through ups and downs. Wake Forest is a not a `re-load' football program. There are some teams out there who can have a good bowl season and come back the next year and almost through osmosis they win six or seven and go to another bowl game. But at Wake we have to earn those. There's nothing guaranteed. We're an academic school playing in one of the best leagues in the country, so we have to go out and play great football every week. And our schedule is daunting. We don't buy wins; we play most teams home-and-home. Look at our home-and-home schedule the past few years, it's home-and-home with Stanford, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Notre Dame and people like that. We're playing tough teams non-conference and then playing the `Noles and the Canes and the Hokies and all those guys in the conference. We're a real for-real academic school playing in a real for-real league. So every year we have to play our best football. Last year was the first year that we really weren't very competitive in a handful of games. It's unusual for us to not even be competitive. Not only are we excited to try to get back to a bowl game, but we're excited to get back to where a fourth quarter means something."
Wide Receiver Chris Givens
On the pressure he faces as the team's top-returning receiver...
"There isn't too much pressure. I'm grateful for this opportunity that I've waited on since I got here. This summer I just worked on becoming the best receiver that I could be so that when the fall comes and the opportunities to play come I will be ready."
On sophomore QB Tanner Price...
"Tanner has looked really good. You can tell that he has worked hard all summer and that he has learned from his mistakes. He is doing everything we could ask for right now."
Quarterback Tanner Price
On training camp...
"It's going well. I think everybody is really upbeat and has a great attitude out there. It's a real positive atmosphere. Guys are excited for this season. We're not letting last year bring us down, and we're all really hungry for some wins this year."
On the team's eagerness to get the 2011 season started...
"We're really looking forward to a fresh start. Last year is in the past, and now it's time to move forward and show people that we are a good team and can compete in the ACC."
On the offensive keys to the season...
"I think this year it will be very important to have a great balance between the running game and the passing game. With Josh Harris coming back, we're hoping to get some big plays out of him. When he makes those plays it will really open up the passing game. On the offensive line, we have four guys coming back, and that's going to be huge."
On the differences between coming in as a sophomore as opposed to being a freshman...
"Last year, I was very anxious going into two-a-days. I didn't know what to expect or how it was all going to pan out. Having gone through spring ball, I feel a lot more confident going into these two-a-days. I think a lot of it has to do with just knowing what to expect."
Safety Cyhl Quarles
On the beginning of training camp...
"It's going great. We're getting back to all the heat. Working out all summer was fun, but it's nice to get back with the guys to do football stuff instead of just lifting weights and running."
On how the secondary has handled the switch to a 3-4 from a 4-3...
"It's pretty much the same coverage for us. We trust Coach Grobe and his plan for the defense, so it has been great for us. It allows Kyle Wilber to get out and jam receivers which knocks them off their routes. It buys the secondary time to do our job."
Nose Guard Nikita Whitlock
On transitioning from the 4-3 to the 3-4 as a nose guard...
"Personally, it wasn't that big of a deal to me. I ran the 3-4 in high school, and I was the nose guard. It suited me a little better and is a little easier for me. I know a lot of guys learned it a little slower which is why we had some missed assignments. It was rough last year transitioning in the middle of the season, but now that we've played some games with it and had time to adjust, I think we are doing fine."
On how a guy his size (5-11, 260) likes being on the line...
"I like it. It's fun. It's a good fight. Honestly, I'd rather be in the middle at nose guard than be a linebacker. It's just what I enjoy doing, and I've been doing it for a while. I get a lot more contact there, and I like contact."
