Story Links
Nov. 22, 2006
Question: What does the Virginia Tech rivalry mean to you and to this program?
Groh: Ever since Coach Welsh came to Virginia and took over the program, this rivalry has continued the development of two teams that have accomplished a lot over the last 20-25 years. Certainly it has done a lot to raise the level of the rivalry and the level of football interest around the state. It’s elevated the play on all levels, it’s just continued to spawn more performance, elevated interest in the teams, elevated programs, more players available, better teams, more exciting games. Obviously it’s been very good for football in Virginia.
Question: What kind of impact will there be if Virginia Tech RB Branden Ore cannot play?
Groh: He is a very talented player. So I’m sure they would love to have him in the game. He is the leading rusher in the ACC, so it has that degree of impact. But as we have said here on occasion about runners, a runner’s production to a large degree has to deal with the size of the holes in front of him. They have been punching some pretty good creases in there. Our challenge is to try and close those creases rather than deal with any particular running back.
Question: Up to a couple of weeks ago, your defense was leading the ACC in sacks, what has happened the last couple of games to limit your sack opportunities?
Groh: Florida State addressed our circumstances in that game by going to a seven-man protection. Pressures come from a lot of different areas, you try to beat the coverage, in some cases, and you try to overload the protection. When there are seven blockers in there, it limits your chances of overloading one side or the other. Plus the fact that we didn’t rush as well, they blocked us well. Last week, there were very few passes where the opposing quarterback threw in which he was comfortable. We had pressure on almost every pass. From watching the tape in sequence, I watch it Sunday morning; it’s the full game sequence. We were sacked five times, they weren’t sacked at all, but our quarterback had many more clean throws than the Miami quarterback did. So the pressure accomplished its purpose in that particular game.
Question: How important has this 2002 recruiting class been to the program’s development?
Groh: We went into that year knowing that it was absolutely essential [to get a good recruiting class]. There needed to be a significant increase to the talent pool. If things were going to jack back up record wise it had to happen right away. Increase in talent of the guys who were going to go in the game. It was an exciting class to get because of the high performance potential of many of the players. Fortunately, many of those players of the highest potential had a certain maturity and competitiveness that they were able to play their first year. That’s the critical part of it. They could have been the same talented player but just not ready to be a college football player yet. They would have played this year, and it would have been nice to have them. But in all likelihood we would have waited another year to have a winning season. Nine or 10 of them started that year. It is pretty remarkable that that many of them could come in and play right away and be major contributors. In the bowl game alone, I think there were three or four of them starting on offense. They got it going early and got things jump-started. Without them we would have had to wait much longer for things to really change.
Question: Is success on the road often one of the last hurdles for a young team?
Groh: It would seem that way. I think probably as I look at different circumstances and size things up. For example, the road record of NFL teams in general, with the road team winning is a lot greater than it is in college football. I think that has to do with the heightened maturity level of those players. They have seen it all and done it all. For a lot of those players it doesn’t matter where the game is played. They understand. It’s loud at home and it’s loud on the road. Loud is loud. When you are trying to communicate your signals it doesn’t make any difference. It’s still hard to hear what the players are saying. The more mature the player, the less impact it has on them.
Question: How important is it to withstand that first blitz from a home team that is pumped up and flying around the field?
Groh: There are certain teams that play a different type of game on the road than they do at home. And I would say vice versa. A number of those teams play in a particular type of environment. They try to get it going early, get the crowd into a frenzy and try to bring it all crashing down on the visiting team. There are a number of teams that try to play that way.
Question: How positive has the team been since Saturday’s game?
Groh: Actually there have been a number of moments during this season where we have been disappointed, but there has been no times that we haven’t been positive. The work ethic has been excellent. The response to what they have been asked to do, whether it’s physically or emotionally, has been excellent. That’s because, players and coaches, we all go to the same practices. We see the ability on the field, we see the talent level. We see it getting better. So it’s been challenging, but it’s a natural thing for us to be positive when things are reinforced through results.
Question: After seeing the recent struggles of Michigan against Ohio State and Alabama against Auburn, how much pressure is there to keep this rivalry competitive?
Groh: To not be aware of it you would have to have your head stuck in the sand. More it’s about wanting to beat good teams. Because that’s where the great sense of satisfaction comes from. That’s how you elevate your own team. The more good teams you go against the more you want to beat them. I think that we want to win every game but it would be different if this wasn’t such a good team that we’re playing. It’s a well-established team, they have won nine games, and it’s a team that has accomplished a lot of the same things, shy of winning a national championship. It’s a notable challenge for our guys.
Question: What are your feelings on the job Mike London has done as defensive coordinator?
Groh: Mike’s done a great job. His energy, his passion, his intensity. It’s really come through. He has a good combination of no-nonsense and let’s have fun that the players have really responded to. I’d say the most compelling area that Mike has brought is one of the main reasons why we were so excited about him coming back and that is the leadership aspect.