Feb. 4, 2004

Head Coach Jim Grobe
On this recruiting class' playing time in 2004:
"Next year we'll be depending on more redshirt freshmen and sophomores and that throws these guys into the mix. If you're the best player at your position, you're going to play. It would not surprise me if one of these young guys stepped up. I'm not looking for them to and I don't expect them to, but I wouldn't be surprised. Right now I'd say that linebacker is the position where there's the best chance of somebody stepping in this year."

On finding any sleepers in this year's recruiting class:
"We feel a lot of the kids we take are sleepers. Usually when someone asks me how our recruiting class went, I tell them I'll let you know in three years."

On signing kicker Sam Swank:
"We wanted a kickoff guy. We scanned I don't know how many films to find one. He's kicked a 51 and 54-yard field goal his senior year, but we're looking for a kickoff guy. I think Matt (Wisnosky) will play better if he's got some competition."

On Demir Boldin, Alphonso Smith and Antonio Wilson who all played together at Pahokee (FL) High School:
"I've never seen kids who enjoyed being together that much. They basically finished each other's sentences. We would have taken any one of the three, but luckily we got all three. For us, this was never intended to be a package deal. We feel we got three players out of a great program and they're all great kids."

On not signing any offensive linemen:
"I'm disappointed we didn't take an offensive lineman. At one time, we thought we only had 13 scholarships to give, but all of a sudden, we go from 13 to 19. With 13, we didn't think we'd take more than one lineman, then we expanded to 19 and didn't extend our search. Next year it will be an emphasis for us."

On the team's needs for next season:
"Our thoughts were we needed to shore up the defense especially at defensive lineman and linebacker. So we aggressively went after those two positions. We've got guys who can play and a couple of them may have to play real early.

On recruiting primarily in the south:
"We'd like to do better in North Carolina but that's what we are -- we are a southern school. It is just hard to drag northern kids too far from home."

On the overall speed of the recruiting class:
"I really like our skill guys. I think they can all fly. The thing that impresses me about all of these kids is that they run really well. I'm excited about these guys."