The normally not very talkative Jim Grobe gave these insights to Wake's winning ways on ESPN News during the Deacs week off.
You said after the Ole Miss game you felt really good going to that last drive. Why?
Well, I felt really bad when our defense let 'em get in (giving Ole Miss a one point lead), and we only had a minute left. But when I looked at Riley Skinner and the offensive kids I just felt like they had a little bit of determination and they didn't look like they'd pushed the panic button. And any time you've got Riley Skinner out there, you've got a chance.
What do you tell your team when it's two minutes to go and you need a field goal or touchdown?
We know the kids better, so we've got a pretty good idea what to do to as a coaching staff. And I think the kids have developed a trust in our coaching staff to know we're going to try and put 'em in the best situations possible. But it's still up to the kids. They know the coaches can't do it and it's their game to play.
What will define your success this year as a football team?
We're fortunate to be 2 and 0, but we still don't know a lot about our team. I think this is the most talented football team we've had since we've been at Wake Forest. But that doesn't necessarily make it the best team. But I like where we are right now, and we're trying to keep expectations under control. And I do think we have a chance to be a good team. We're just trying not to look too far down the road.
What would Riley Skinner or another of your players say defines a Jim Grobe coached team?
I
hope they'd say it's all about team and not individuals. I think too
many times teams get caught up in stats and kids are more worried about
their individual success than the team's success. And if you
interviewed our players you'd find guys that like each other and care
about each other when they go out on Saturday. I think they're more
concerned with finding a way to win than what they do individually.
Riley Skinner got your last scholarship during his recruiting year. Why did you need a second look?
We'd
already taken a quarterback, and we try not to have two quarterbacks in
the same class. But we had a scholarship left, and the more we looked
at Riley the more we felt that we just couldn't pass him up.
You turn around Ohio, then come to Wake Forest and win seven games by your third year before your breakout season in '06. How did you do it?
When you take over a program you've got a couple classes that were recruited on an upswing, then there's kind of a lull. And the thing that was good for us was the year we played our first fully recruited fifth-year senior class is the year we won the ACC championship. So we've got all our own kids. Kids who've been hearing the same coaching points now for five years.
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