Wake Forest Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse vs. Wake Forest
September 1, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Wake Forest Student-Athletes
Tanner Price, Quarterback
On injuring your knee:
“I think it is going to be alright. I actually tore my ACL my freshman year. It was not the same kind of pain that I felt then. So I am hoping and praying that it is going to be alright. But I have not heard anything yet.”
On the game’s momentum:
“I do not know. I think we got a little bit flat towards the end and gave them some momentum, gave them an opportunity to get back into the game. We cannot have that. We have to finish games.”
On the game plan:
“I think the coaches did a great preparing me for this game with film study and I was really comfortable with what we were doing offensively.”
On third down conversions:
“Third down is huge. Last year we got caught in a lot of third and long situations. For the most part we stayed out of those. Last year we also did not convert a lot of those and I think we were able to do that today.”
On the Syracuse defense:
“They were running a lot of fire zone 3 and quarter looks. It was a pretty base defense with a lot of blitzes. They like to blitz a lot.”
Nikita Whitlock, Nose Guard
On the fourth quarter:
“Honestly, I do not know. All I know is there was a lot of ‘if’s’, ‘and’s’, and ‘but’s,’ and ‘shoulda’s,’ ‘coulda’s,’ woulda’s’ that were not to our advantage late in the game. I wish we could have turned it around, but Syracuse is a good team. We were down and they took advantage of us. I guess we just have to look at the film and fix the problem.”
On (quarterback) Tanner Price getting hurt:
“I think it was a big momentum shift. It is hard for a quarterback to come in to the third quarter after having sat all day. His arm is cold, his legs are cold, and he is trying to get his reads. He is also trying to get comfortable and plus it was in a tough situation--it was not like we were up 20 points. So I think it was a big momentum shift, it was hard to get the momentum to slow down at all. I think it was a big part of the game.”
On controlling the Syracuse offense through three quarters:
“Just playing. Playing hard, playing tough, and playing fast. I think towards the end of the third quarter we slowed down. I do not know why, maybe it was because we were cocky, I do not know. But it was not a good thing. And it resulted in a lost.”
On if the team went back to last year’s form in the fourth quarter:
“They had some adjustments that were pretty good and we did not adjust well to them. That was part of it. The coaching and playing was good. We just did not execute. We missed a lot of tackles. That was a big part of it. The first half we won the penalty game. The second half it started to turn and we started getting stupid penalties. Some calls did not go our way and things like that. Things like that towards the end of a game really determine a game. The first half you see what is happening but it does not determine a game.”
Michael Campanaro, Flanker
On the fourth quarter:
“It is a tough loss. I am proud of the way we played. My teammates and coaches, we fought hard but hats off to Syracuse. They played a great game. They came back, they never quit. But we have to finish. We have to finish plays towards the end of the game. And then some momentum shifted. But Syracuse played a great game. Great coaches, great players, and classy guys. It is a tough one to swallow.”
On what is different about the team than last year:
“I think one thing is different is we have a lot of confidence. We are going to bounce back, I know our guys in that locker room. We are going to come out next week and bounce back. We have our first ACC game. I am confident we are going to bounce back. It is a tough pill to swallow. But we just have to be ready for North Carolina State.”
On (quarterback) Tanner Price’s injury:
“There are a lot of different things when your quarterback goes down. As an offense it throws a little timing off and things like that. But you know there were a lot of different plays that kind of turned the game. But hats off to those guys.”
September 1, 2011
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Wake Forest Student-Athletes
Tanner Price, Quarterback
On injuring your knee:
“I think it is going to be alright. I actually tore my ACL my freshman year. It was not the same kind of pain that I felt then. So I am hoping and praying that it is going to be alright. But I have not heard anything yet.”
On the game’s momentum:
“I do not know. I think we got a little bit flat towards the end and gave them some momentum, gave them an opportunity to get back into the game. We cannot have that. We have to finish games.”
On the game plan:
“I think the coaches did a great preparing me for this game with film study and I was really comfortable with what we were doing offensively.”
On third down conversions:
“Third down is huge. Last year we got caught in a lot of third and long situations. For the most part we stayed out of those. Last year we also did not convert a lot of those and I think we were able to do that today.”
On the Syracuse defense:
“They were running a lot of fire zone 3 and quarter looks. It was a pretty base defense with a lot of blitzes. They like to blitz a lot.”
Nikita Whitlock, Nose Guard
On the fourth quarter:
“Honestly, I do not know. All I know is there was a lot of ‘if’s’, ‘and’s’, and ‘but’s,’ and ‘shoulda’s,’ ‘coulda’s,’ woulda’s’ that were not to our advantage late in the game. I wish we could have turned it around, but Syracuse is a good team. We were down and they took advantage of us. I guess we just have to look at the film and fix the problem.”
On (quarterback) Tanner Price getting hurt:
“I think it was a big momentum shift. It is hard for a quarterback to come in to the third quarter after having sat all day. His arm is cold, his legs are cold, and he is trying to get his reads. He is also trying to get comfortable and plus it was in a tough situation--it was not like we were up 20 points. So I think it was a big momentum shift, it was hard to get the momentum to slow down at all. I think it was a big part of the game.”
On controlling the Syracuse offense through three quarters:
“Just playing. Playing hard, playing tough, and playing fast. I think towards the end of the third quarter we slowed down. I do not know why, maybe it was because we were cocky, I do not know. But it was not a good thing. And it resulted in a lost.”
On if the team went back to last year’s form in the fourth quarter:
“They had some adjustments that were pretty good and we did not adjust well to them. That was part of it. The coaching and playing was good. We just did not execute. We missed a lot of tackles. That was a big part of it. The first half we won the penalty game. The second half it started to turn and we started getting stupid penalties. Some calls did not go our way and things like that. Things like that towards the end of a game really determine a game. The first half you see what is happening but it does not determine a game.”
Michael Campanaro, Flanker
On the fourth quarter:
“It is a tough loss. I am proud of the way we played. My teammates and coaches, we fought hard but hats off to Syracuse. They played a great game. They came back, they never quit. But we have to finish. We have to finish plays towards the end of the game. And then some momentum shifted. But Syracuse played a great game. Great coaches, great players, and classy guys. It is a tough one to swallow.”
On what is different about the team than last year:
“I think one thing is different is we have a lot of confidence. We are going to bounce back, I know our guys in that locker room. We are going to come out next week and bounce back. We have our first ACC game. I am confident we are going to bounce back. It is a tough pill to swallow. But we just have to be ready for North Carolina State.”
On (quarterback) Tanner Price’s injury:
“There are a lot of different things when your quarterback goes down. As an offense it throws a little timing off and things like that. But you know there were a lot of different plays that kind of turned the game. But hats off to those guys.”
