James Franklin Monday Presser highlights

Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin spoke to the Nashville media on Monday. Franklin discussed the Commodores' recent victory over Ole Miss and the upcoming game at South Carolina.

- Really proud of Trey Wilson.

- Defensive scoring a real positive for the team. Third week in a row the defense scored a TD.

- Penalties, 7 for 40 yards. Team going to be disciplined, "that's who we are." Will have refs at practice every Wednesday.

- Explosive plays. VU had 7 (5 runs and 2 passes). Gave up 3 explosive plays on defense. Goal is two or less. Team needs more explosive passes offensively.

- Red zone success. Gotta keep getting into red zone.

- Special teams. Team was able to eliminate OM punt returner Scott.

- Larry Smith. 12-17 for 71 percent and 1 rushing TD. Only threw 3 times in second half (Smith just one pass).

- Trey Smith SEC Def. POTW and Wesley Johnson SEC OL of the Week.

- Very impressed with Steve Spurier and South Carolina. Worked with USC strength coach at Maryland. VU strength coach Gault's two sons are a strength coach and graduate assistant at USC.

- Vandy ranked No. 1 in SEC in turnover margin; USC No. 3. Defensively a 4-3 set. Six returning starts from '10. Very athletic. No. 98 DE Devon Taylor and No. 6 DE Melvin Ingram. CB Stephon Gilmore.

- Offensively impressed with USC. Must tackle better. Marcus Lattimore is as good as it gets. Alshon Jeffery one of several very good USC receivers. VU must get more sacks and protect VU QB better.

- How tough is the challenge? It's just the next game. Will do a lot of things to simulate road noise/ hostile environment in practice.

- Are you enjoying national recognition? It's okay but more worried about the players/coaches feel good about themselves and staying focused.

- How has Trey Wilson been able to be so successful? A combination of his being a good player, a strong defensive line and coaching. Some INTs, "balls just falling out of the sky."

- Is Wesley Tate adjusting to new position? "I have been impressed with him." Must learn to play fast without the ball. Struggled with that the first couple week.

- John Cole's status? Injured. Won't play this week. Hopefully back soon.

- On handling success? Has talked to the team about handling success since the start of camp. Focus is on each other and our family. We are excited to have people jump on the bandwagon but our focus is on our team.

- Why was Navy able to keep it close to USC? "That's Navy. You don't want to play Navy. At my previous institution I was very aware of what they were doing, we played them as well. They do a great job on offense. They run a scheme that allows their guys to be extremely disciplined. You are talking about playing a team and a group of men that will die for something they believe in. That's the type of guys you are playing when you play one of those military academies. That's Navy. I don't look at that anything different about South Carolina. I have tremendous respect for the service academies and that's why I'll be fighting as long as I can to make sure they aren't on our schedule." Will Scout Navy's defense against USC but not offense.

- How much tougher is it on the road in the fourth quarter? If you have a veteran team that's won on the road then it's no problem. Says the team has instituted noise in practice since camp. Will have DJs and bands playing around the practice field to simulate noise.

- On slowing down Marcus Lattimore. I don't know if you do. I think Marcus Lattimore is going to play well. They are going to give him the ball enough that he's going to have some statistics. The one thing we look at our defense when coach Shoop grades the defense is our pursuit- getting all 11 guys to run to the ball every single play. We haven't had a winning grade in that yet. Also tackling at the 90 percent levels. Those two areas are how the team's defense can improve.

- On getting emotional. Not sure what you mean. Don't know if he really got emotional. There were no tears.

- Do you play into the fact that you are a big underdog against USC? No, point spreads are for the fans and media. Doesn't gamble.

- Says it's important to score first and early but final score most important stat. Wins and losses the most important stat.

- Have you ever played in an SEC venue on the road? Toughest place you ever played? Slippery Rock.

- Will the team change the way they play because of Jefferies? We are going to play the way we play.

- Where did rushing success come from on Saturday? It came from hard work and attention to detail. Says players have been stopping by between classes watching film.

- On facing Spurrier. "It's exciting. Real exciting."

- On Seymour playing after Norman comes back. He'll continue to play. He's going to have a great career here. Has great balance and vision.