Postgame Quotes -- Wake Forest 31, Presbyterian 7
8/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug 29, 2013
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
Opening Statement...
"They came in with a good plan. [Presbyterian] gave the offense some problems and certainly gave the defense some problems about the first play of the game on that long run. And then the defense settled down, and I thought they played great. Offensively we sputtered back and forth. We can't turn the ball over like we did in the redzone. We killed the clock and we hadn't worked on quarterback-center exchanges under center. That's probably our fault more than anything. Then Dominique [Gibson] was just trying to get in the end zone and wouldn't go down. Any time that you do that you have to be careful and protect the ball. So that's a good learning experience for him. But I did think that we played a lot of young kids tonight, that was good. Not only young kids, but some kids that have been around a while played a little more tonight. All in all, I thought it was a good football game."
On special teams play...
"I thought our special teams for the most part were pretty good. We had a lot of young guys on those special teams. There were a lot of rookies out there covering kicks, but I think their speed and athleticism were obvious. So I'm excited about our kicking game."
On Presbyterian's game plan...
"I think their whole plan was to stop the run. They actually had nine people in the box when we went to motion. So that gave us the opportunity to get the big throw. The thing that's most disappointing is that when we hit the big throws, we didn't capitalize on all those redzone opportunities. One of the things that we're disappointed in is that we had some missed assignments, things that we've been doing pretty good for the last week. I don't know whether it was just first game jitters or whatever, but we made a few mistakes. But overall, I think Presbyterian's kids played really hard. We got challenged pretty good. A lot of our guys got to play, and it was just a really good night. It was a good first game for us. We `re going to have a lot to go back and teach off it."
On Michael Campanaro's hamstring injury...
"I think he could have gone tonight. He talked to me during the week about the last time he had a hamstring [injury], and he felt really bad and didn't feel like he could go. Then almost overnight, he felt great. I think he probably could have played football tonight. But taking the chance of him going out and really pulling it for real, and missing three or four weeks was not in the cards for us tonight."
Presbyterian Head Coach Harold Nichols
Opening statement...
"I thought, you know, early on I thought we would be able to run the football a little bit better. Coming into the game, I thought we could be able to do that. The problem is, offensively, we did such a poor job taking care of the ball. You turn the ball over that many times like we did, as good as the defense was playing early, we kept putting them in a bad position. They bailed us out of it two or three times which is huge, which is a big step for our program and our football team. It's good to see that out of our defense. I'm really disappointed in the way we played offensively. We didn't take care of the ball and threw some interceptions and turnovers. I'm really disappointed there. We're a lot better football team offensively I think then what we were out here tonight. You got to give credit to Wake Forest, they're an awfully good football team; well coached. But we didn't help ourselves a whole lot, making it a short field for them. Defense got tired at the end, and I was real proud of how those kids fought."
On the offensive struggles...
"I just think that we didn't play very well offensively. They're good defensively; but not that good. We just played really, really poor offensively in this football game. And we had to give ourselves a chance; we didn't execute very well ... we didn't protect the passer, we had a hard time running it consistently. I'm just very disappointed. We got to go back to work next week if we're going to have a chance to have a decent football team because we got to be better offensively then that right there. We'll play some teams down the stretch on our schedule that are pretty good like Wake, that are pretty stout defensively, so we got a lot of work to do."
Freshman Wide Receiver Jonathan Williams
On the team's offensive approach and his first reception...
"We just stuck with the game plan. I mean, he wasn't eyeing me, he was just eyeing the defense to see what it was going to do. The play call was right there."
On whether or not he was expecting to gain over 140 yards in his breakout performance...
"No I didn't. I was going to play my game and see where it was going to go from there."
Freshman James Looney
On the most important thing he learned from the game...
"It was a tough game tonight. It was a real good challenge for our team. Presbyterian played a heck of a game. I guess it's like you have to play every game like it's your last and run around the field and play fast and play to your ability."
On the adjustments that need to be made moving forward in the season...
"We had a good game today. Presbyterian had a good team. They were quick and were good technique-wise. I think they were a good challenge, but I just think we've got to get a little smoother with less penalties and be more sound."
Senior Quarterback Tanner Price
On how it felt to be carrying the ball again...
"I enjoyed it. It was good to get to run a little bit more. I felt pretty good running so I'm excited to be doing that a little bit more."
On whether Wake Forest will be a harder team to defend this year than last...
"I think it's going to be difficult for defenses this year just because we have so much misdirection. I think it will really benefit us."
On whether he was happy with the offense's performance tonight...
"I think overall we had some pretty good reads, but there's no question that we self-destructed a little bit on offense. I mean, there were four or five times when we were in the red zone and we didn't come away with any points, but it's kind of to be expected in the first game with a couple penalties and missed assignments. But we'll clean that up and we'll be a better team next week."
On Jonathan Williams' performance tonight...
"We really need that number two receiver to match Camp, and it's going to be really good if he continues to develop confidence."
Junior Cornerback Kevin Johnson
On giving up the first touchdown...
"Everybody was disappointed, but I feel like as a defense we did a great job of not getting mad at each other. We just rallied back and fixed the corrections on that play and we were able to forget about the play and just keep playing fast."
On returning punts...
"I do like returning punts, but I just try to make the most of my opportunities and, first and foremost, secure the ball. Once I secure the ball (then I) try and get the offense in a good position."
