Jan. 1, 2007

Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe held his final press conference before Tuesday night's FedEx Orange Bowl. Monday morning he met with a large contingent of local, regional and national media. Following are his responses:

Because of the late kickoff, what will the team do all day on Tuesday?
"A late kickoff is an issue. We don't want our kids laying in a hotel bed all day. We'll have some form of walk-through, maybe even in the hotel. Basically, we'll try to keep them focused on playing football. We're trying to let them get plenty of rest, but stay focused on assignments."

Is it more difficult recruiting to an academic school?
"I think players are interested in academics, but I think the parents are very concerned about academics. I think if you bring the wrong kid to Wake Forest, he's miserable. We have to find kids who have good character and can handle it academically, plus compete in the ACC. We want a kid that wants a great education, but dreams at night of winning an ACC championship."

Have you lost kids in the recruiting process because you redshirt almost all true freshmen?
"Most kids want to play right away. They want to play as soon as they possibly can and I understand that. I put myself in that position and I would want to play right away. The thing we want to is what's best for the kid. We feel like you have a much better chance of being an impact player as a fifth-year senior. We don't mind playing true freshmen. We don't want to just do what's best for the program, but what's best for the kid. But if we can get a true freshman 30 snaps or more per game, and that's real snaps, not just special teams, then we'll play him as a true freshman. Some true freshmen end up on the field by default because of injuries to older guys. We want our kids to have the four best years of football they can have."

When did you realize this could be a special season?
"For me personally, I thought when we beat Boston College, that gave us a chance to dream a little bit. I thought BC was a very good football team and we were fortunate to beat them. I thought when we beat them that we could be a pretty good football team. I think our players sensed that we had a chance to do some pretty cool stuff after we beat Boston College."

Can you give a very brief summary of Louisville?
"They are really a good defensive football team. Their defense doesn't get as much publicity because offensively they are so good. The thing that scares us is their big-play opportunity. They can score in bunches. We've got to find a way to make first downs. We've got a pretty good kicker in Sam Swank and I think kicking will be important. I think our coaches have had some sleepless nights lately."

You have a couple guys from Pahokee on the roster. What does this mean to them?
"I think it means a lot. When we recruited them, they knew they were going to have a chance to come back and play against Miami and Florida State. That was big for them. I think it's very important to them to come and play in the Orange Bowl. My concern is that they keep playing good football. I know that they are really excited to be back home in south Florida."