Each Thursday, PowerMizzou.com publisher Gabe DeArmond will answer questions from subscribers in our Tiger Mailbag. This feature will allow for longer, more in-depth answers than you may get on the message board on a daily basis. To have your question in next week's mailbag, send an email to Gabe at gabedea@powermizzou.com. On to this week's inquiries:

mglassma asks: It sounds like T Resonno, what he has in skill set he lacks in confidence. Do you get that impression of him? Can you compare, at this point, James Franklin's poise and performance to Chase Daniel's as a true freshman?

No, I would say Resonno seems like a pretty confident kid to me. What I've liked is that in hearing him talk, he knows he's under the gun and has to be good this year. If the production matches the confidence, he'll be fine.

I'm going to cop out on the second part. I refuse to compare a true freshman to a kid that was one of the most productive college quarterbacks ever. But I'll say this: As a true freshman in fall camp, Daniel didn't jump off the field to me as a guy that was ready to go in and do what he did in the Iowa State game. He didn't look like that in the Arkansas State game in the opener either. You can't judge that off practice. You find out how ready a kid is when he's put in that situation. You might think you know beforehand, but there's no way you do.

So Cal Tiger asks: I think the one glaring thing that has everybody in the country (including ourselves) second guessing how good this team could be is the secondary. Dead last last year and not much better the previous year. You can't be an elite team if you finish dead last in a major category like that. So I think everyone is holding their collective breaths and rightfully so. That said, with the new tweaks in the scheme and pretty much everyone back what are your thoughts so far? Even if you have to gut feel it. Looking good? Like the speed? Like the physical play? Don't like it? Don't like their attitudes (morale down)?

I've been impressed with Carl Gettis and Kip Edwards for sure. I think Kevin Rutland has been in position to make a lot of plays and has broken up plenty of passes. The next step is actually catching them and turning them into takeaways. But as I said above, to me, safety play will be a better indicator. It seems to me the pass defense really only has one way to go. It doesn't have to be elite, but it does have to be at least middle of the road. I think it will be better. I don't yet know if it will be enough better.

Graphic Edge Guy asks: How would you compare your early impression and resulting gut feeling about this team compared to the 2007 team at the same point in Fall camp? Any similarities?

I said in spring of 2007 that I got the feeling from Missouri players the KNEW they were going to be good. And I mean really good. I don't know if that's the case here yet or not. I do know the team thinks it's getting overlooked and it feels like it's out to prove something. I like what I've seen from guys like Gabbert, Derrick Washington, Aldon Smith and Jerrell Jackson stepping up their leadership roles. Can they match what guys like Rucker, Williams, Daniel and Brown did in 2007? That's a big role to fill. And I think it's the major question mark on whether this team can have a good season or a great one. 2007 was great because those guys made sure the team brought it every week. Even in the two games they lost, it wasn't because they played poorly. They lost to a team that played better. And there weren't any real scares that you thought Missouri was going to drop a game that year to a clearly inferior team. Missouri is good enough to win every game it plays. But they're not good enough to do it if they play a B or a C game. They've got to be good every week (or when they're off, it has to happen against one of the schedule's lightweights, not against the big boys).

dreamlaw asks: All we keep hearing is positive things on the freshman class. Off hand based upon what you've said so far i can count 7 or 8 guys that could shed the redshirt, if you had to pick a number and a few guys that will do so how many would you say? Might we see half the freshman class w/o redshirts this year?

It won't be that many because Missouri has so many players back. Guys like Kony Ealy or Darvin Ruise might be good enough to play in a lot of years, but might not simply because of depth this year. My too early guess at guys that play is Henry Josey, James Franklin, Jimmie Hunt, Marcus Lucas OR Bud Sasser, Eric Waters, Kenronte Walker and one more linebacker or defensive back on special teams.

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