Nov. 11, 2008

Press Conference Video: Grobe | Ghee | Williams | Woodlief

Head coach Jim Grobe

On whether he's ready for another team to give them their best shot...
"Well I hope the players are. The coaches have known for awhile now that every out is going to be a tough one and I think the players are starting to realize that you better be ready to roll every Saturday."

On having an opportunity to win the division these last two weeks...
"We're kind of just pecking away at it. We had a couple of bad weeks and we have kind of rebounded from that. We're playing a little bit better. We're more consistent right now. Hopefully we can play our best football down the stretch and I think that's the key."

On seeing progression every week with NC State...
"Absolutely. I think Tom's (O'Brien) biggest problem is that they have a pretty injured football team. We've been banged up a lot but I think they have maybe had more than us. It's just hard when you don't have the same guys in the lineup every week. But I think with the open date, they got pretty healthy for Duke and I think we're going to see all of their good guys out on the field Saturday."

On whether Russell Wilson reminds him of any other quarterback he's seen...
"No. He's special because he's got the real live arm. He's a really mobile quarterback. He maybe a little like the Freeman kid from Baylor in that he has the ability to hurt you throwing the ball but can be equally as dangerous when he gets flushed from the pocket. It gives the defense a lot of problems. He's a good player.

On Monday night's practice...
"A lot of energy. We had a lot of energy last Monday night at practice and again last night our guys had a good practice. We don't have a lot in for Monday. A lot of special teams stuff but we still had a lot of energy. Some of the guys that were injured got going a little bit last night."

On his team scoreboard watching...
"Well, we typically tell them to keep their eyes off the scoreboard. But as long as we can focus on playing a really good NC State team, I really don't talk to the guys about much else. We don't do a lot of talking about what might be or what other teams are doing. That might be if interest but it's not something we can focus on."

On what's worked better offensively the last two weeks...
"We've been a little more balanced. We're spending better practice time. The first half of the season, we were spending three-fourths of our practice time on throwing the football, blitz pickup, reads for the quarterbacks and route concepts for the receivers. Now we're probably 50/50 or 60/40 run-pass, which I think has helped us on Saturday, because we have the ability to do more than one thing. We were so one dimensional at the beginning of the year and now we've balanced it out a bit and hopefully we can do that the rest of the season.

On the environment in Raleigh and Carter-Finely Stadium...
"It's fun. It's a great environment. Their fans get cranked up and make it a little tougher for your offense when their out on the field. It's a great environment and I'm sure they love to play at home. But our guys get excited when the crowds are big."

On playing that "blue team" (North Carolina) down in Tampa...
"Certainly being in Tampa would be really good and I wouldn't care what color jersey is on the other sideline as long as the Deacs are one of those teams. But I think it would be pretty cool if you had a couple of the North Carolina teams playing in Tampa. I think that would be neat. But I think we better focus on our black and gold team and not worry about the other division."

Redshirt junior cornerback Brandon Ghee

On how frustrating it is to be out of the game...
"It's very frustrating. You have to look on and hope that your teammates with come through. Josh Bush is a good player, real young but he has a lot of experience. Hopefully he'll do his work."

On the driving force of the championship game...
"Of course it is our goal at the beginning of the season to go to Tampa. We still have to get through N.C. State and hopefully when we go to Raleigh we'll come out with a win."

On the defense in the game against Virginia...
"I think we came together as a team and we watched a lot of film. Coach Lambert told us he was a little disappointed about the Duke game and allowing them to score 30 points. For the Virginia games we came together and tried to work as a team."

On the meaning of the state championship...
"It means a lot. Marshall's from Durham, I'm from Fayetteville and we've played a lot of these players in North Carolina. This will be an exciting match up."

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Marshall Williams

On the games left...
"We've got two key games left against two good teams and it's really getting down to grind time in the ACC. We're just taking it one game at a time. N.C. State is a great opponent, they have a great coach, and they are a very physical team. We're just looking forward to Saturday."

On looking towards Tampa...
"It drives us a lot. Knowing that everyone during this time is really neck and neck in the conference is a big motivation for us to set ourselves apart. We come in every year and we are not expected to be the champions. To prove that some of that is wrong is a great motivation."

On looking to N.C. State coming off a win...
"N.C. State is a very dangerous team. They see us as a challenge and they want to be the kings of North Carolina. They are playing great ball right now with a great quarter back and their defense is really tenacious."

On what allowed you to be so open for Riley on Saturday...
"It starts with our own line, they really stepped up and gave Riley a lot of protection. At practice we've been repping a lot of throws and making sure we connect. We know that our offense can really move the ball if all of our receivers step up and contribute. We are a vital part of the offense."

Redshirt sophomore middle linebacker Matt Woodlief

On what he's learned playing with this defense...
"Mostly what I've learned from A.C. [Aaron Curry], Stanley [Arnoux] and Chantz [McClinic] is how they communicate with one another, and how they stay focused every week and how hard they play. Even in practice, they go 150 percent each play. If they mess up, they still fly around to the ball. That's what I've learned and what Hunter [Haynes] has learned."

On NC State and the rest of the season...
"Right now, all we're focusing on is this week. To beat NC State, we just have to go up there and play in their environment, and just outplay them. We just have to finish each quarter, and we've got to play four quarters. We just have to go up there and do our jobs, each and every one of us - offense, defense and special teams."

On NC State's quarterback Russell Wilson...
"I think he's only thrown one interception and he hasn't been sacked a lot this year. [Wilson]'s very quick and very accurate. He does anything just to say away from being sacked."

On running back Andre Brown of NC State...
"He's a very hard and physical runner and likes to lower his shoulder a lot. He reminds me a lot of Virginia's [Cedric] Peerman, how he runs and how hard he runs. He's a good player as well. They're all good players. Offensive line, wide receivers, the whole team's good. We just have to go there and do our job."