July 20, 2008
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GREENSBORO, Ga. - Wake Forest's Aaron Curry and Alphonso Smith met with the media on Sunday at the 2008 ACC Football Kickoff held at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation.
Curry and Smith are on hand to represent the Demon Deacons in the conference's preseason media weekend event. The two seniors spoke with print, radio and television outlets from throughout the ACC footprint. A sampling of their conversations with the media is listed below.
Coach Jim Grobe, along with the other 11 ACC head coaches, is scheduled to meet with the media on Monday.
The preseason ACC poll and the preseason ACC Player of the Year will be released by the conference office on Monday afternoon. The preseason All-ACC teams are set to be released on Wednesday, July 23.
Aaron Curry
On who is the team to beat in the ACC this season...
"All the teams in the ACC have a lot of talent and any team can compete for the big title. I can't pinpoint one team because each week, everybody has to play hard because anybody can beat anybody in the ACC."
On what it's been like the last two years with the turn around of the program...
"It's amazing too see how hard work can pay off. We take pride in working hard, no matter the conditions. We take it one play at a time, one rep at a time and everyone gives it their all. At the end of practice, everyone is gassed because we've all worked extremely hard. It's been very rewarding."
On the improvements the team has made since he came to campus...
"It's special. Things were not where we wanted them to be when we came in. It was frustrating having to redshirt that first year because we all wanted to make an impact right away. So we took that year and planned how we were going to change this program and I think that really helped."
On people starting to think of Wake Forest as a strong football program...
"It's interesting to see that people are becoming interested in Wake Forest football. People are saying we can finish in the top three of the ACC as opposed to our freshmen and sophomore years when they picked us 11th or 12th. On the other hand, it's kind of scary because some players will look at them picking us in the top three and think that they don't have work hard because everybody thinks we're going to be good. So it's on us as seniors to make sure everyone works hard and stays on the right path."
On what adjective comes to mind to describe Coach Grobe...
"Open. I feel like I have built a great relationship with him over the last four years. He always says that we can come see him anytime. So as a freshman, I tested him. I was stopping by all the time to see him and he was always there. Now, I go into his office three or four times a week to talk. We don't always talk about football either. We talk about our families and how I'm doing in school and how my life is going outside of football. I really feel like I've built a close bond with coach Grobe because he is open to us."
On what coach Grobe did to convince the team they could be a top-25 team by his senior year...
"He made sure we knew we were going to work hard every day. He proved to us that this is what it takes. The first year, we worked hard and were 4-7 and I thought this can't be what it takes. But once everyone on the team bought into what coach Grobe was saying, we won the ACC title. Now, we all know, whatever coach Grobe says, goes. I mean if he came in here now and told me to run full speed into the wall, I would have to do it because I have that much confidence in what he says."
On what helped him build confidence in coach Grobe...
"What really helped me build confidence in coach Grobe was being able to sit down and talk to him. Some coaches sit up in their big offices and big chairs and you really don't get to sit down and have a conversation with them. Being able to sit down and feel out coach Grobe and find out that he really had our best interests at heart, really helped me believe in him. He wants the players to do well, the team to do well and its not about him doing well. The attitude he brings is contagious and we have really come together as a team through him."
On how easy it is to play hard for a coach like coach Grobe...
"Coach Grobe has this look he gives us that tells us when he wants us to play hard. He doesn't do much screaming and yelling but if you're not playing hard, he can tell. So we go out there every Saturday and just give it our all."
Alphonso Smith
On whether he thought the team could turn it around and become this good this quick...
"Yeah! Our former defensive coordinator, coach [Dean] Hood, brought us in for a meeting and his words were, 'The world has it wrong. It's not you've got to see to believe, it's you've got to believe too see.' We just lived by that the past few years. If you believe, most likely it will come to pass. He said we have to believe we can win before we can win."
On going to Tallahassee this season after beating Florida State 30-0 last time down there...
"They'll be gunning for us, definitely. But, I'm sure we'll be prepared and I know both teams are going to bring it. We've beat them the last two seasons so this year will be just as hard if not harder than the last two. It's never easy playing Florida State, especially at their place."
On the improvements the team has made since he came to campus...
"A lot of this game has shifted from being a physical game to a mental game. Coming in, I think we were ready physically, but not mentally. That redshirt year gave us time to get in the weight room, get in the cafeteria and really learn the playbook and the system. We also got to adjust to the speed of the college game through practice. Looking back at my redshirt year, I wasn't happy because I felt like I should be playing over some of the guys that were on the field. But my second year when I did get out on the field, everything came easier to me and it allowed me to be a better player."
On what adjective comes to mind to describe Coach Grobe...
"Honest. He is an honest guy. His character is amazing. He treats everyone equal, from the star on the team to the walk-ons. He also means what he says. He doesn't try to lure you in to believing something different. He is personable too. If he has a problem with you, he'll call you into the office instead of going through the other coaches."
On what coach Grobe did to convince the team they could be a top-25 team by his senior year...
"Coach Grobe knows best. He knows exactly what he is doing as far as game plans and practices and once we all started believing that, we starting winning. He's been coaching longer than most of us have been living, so we know that Grobe knows best."
On what helped you build confidence in coach Grobe...
"One of coach Grobe's best quotes that is going to stick with me the rest of my life is, 'You know when I am going to realize that I've been a good coach? It's going to be 20 years down the road when I see you being a great husband, a great father, a great man. When people know you for more than what you did on the field but for who you are as a person.' Most people say that stuff but coach Grobe really feels that way about us and he never feels that he is too big for any of the players."
On not being able to sneak up on anybody....
"I don't know if anybody can sneak up on anybody in the ACC because everyone has talented players and a great coach but we just need to keep practicing hard and watching film to keep doing what we've been doing. We're really not going to change anything."
On what it's like to score 10 touchdowns as a team on defense...
"I'm glad you said a team because that's truly what it takes, a total team effort. Anytime we score on defense its fun because we work so hard in practice every day. Our interior defensive line coach always says, 'Scoop and score' any time we force a turnover, so we can hear that voice in our heads when were out there. It's just really refreshing to see all of our hard work pay off."
