Blake Shapen talks 3-0 start, young quarterbacks and his receivers

A quick comparison between Blake Shapen in 2024 and the quarterback in 2025 isn’t all that dissimilar on the state sheet, but things couldn’t be much different this year.

The former Baylor player had 974 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception and essentially four games last year and he’s at 722 with six scores and two picks this season. The difference is that Shapen has aspirations of playing deep into the season this year and his Bulldogs look like an entirely different team.

While the end result of a successful season likely means that Shapen has a good season for himself, his overall goal is doing whatever it takes to win. That’s been good enough for a 3-0 start to this point, and he’s made the teammates around him better as well.

Shapen now prepares his team this week to try to get to 4-0 as they welcome in Northern Illinois in the final game before SEC play begins. He had a chance to update where the team is at the Monday media availability and he touched on his relationship with his fellow QBs and wide receivers.

Question: How do you assess where the team is after three weeks?

Shapen: “Obviously, it’s great to start 3-0. You look at last week and there are a lot of things to clean up offensively. Defensively, I’m sure it’s the same thing. It’s a blessing just to be able to start 3-0 and being able to go in this week looking for another win.”

Q: You lost a lot of production from the receivers last year but haven’t missed them much in the first three weeks. What’s in been like throwing it to guys like Brenen Thompson and Anthony Evans?

Shapen: “It’s been awesome. It’s like I said from the beginning, it’s a good group of guys to be able to work with and they come in every single week ready to play and get better. Can’t say enough good things about them, the preparation and who they are on game day. When they step foot on the field, they’re ready to play every single game so that’s good to see. We have a fun time doing it.”

Q: You spoke in the summer about how close you got with Kamario Taylor and Luke Kromenhoek. What was it like seeing them make plays on Saturday?

Shapen: “It’s awesome to see. Whenever you put in a ton of work in the film room, in practice, for them to go out and show everybody what they’re made of and things they’ve been working on is cool. It was fun supporting them from the sidelines watching them do their thing.”

Q: Before your touchdown drive against Arizona State, Kamario told you he believed in you. What does that mean to you to hear that from one of the younger players?

Shapen: “The relationship that we’ve been able to build when they first got here has been tremendous. I think they know from the preparation and work and all the things that we do together, they see it behind the scenes every single day. I thin that’s where it came from. He knew that I was ready for that moment and that I’ve been in college for a really long time and seen a lot of different things. I think he trusted in me to go out there and lead us to a win. I appreciate that a lot from him.”

Q: What was it like calling the trick play for Kamario?

Shapen: “It’s awesome. You look at him and you can put him in so many different situations. First play, we line him up at receiver, he comes and bounces behind me and I fake and throw it to (Evans). He’s just a decoy for the defense on that because when you put in an athletic guy like that, it’s very noticeable. So eyes are on him.

“The next play, being able to fake the pitch and him and then him take it around the edge and make the throw to Brenen was fun to see. You can put him in the game and make our offense very dynamic just because he’s in the game. It was fun to see him be able to do that, especially for his first touchdown.”

Q: How does the offensive line changes impact you week to week?

Shapen: “It doesn’t impact me a ton just because I can’t control the coaches’ decisions and who they put out there. I think for me just being able to control the things that I can control is a huge thing. Whether it’s a guy at receiver or somebody on the offensive line where we’re rotating guys and get guys reps.”

Q: There was a lot of talk about Anthony and Brenen from people that they were just going to run verts but they’ve showed an expanded game. How soon did you see that?

Shapen: “You can see it pretty early. Obviously, two different types of receivers but both very fast to push the ball down the field and get them the ball. But also, in the intermediate passing game, making decisions on the option routes and things like that they do a really good job of finding grass. The knowledge of the game stands out with both of those guys. They understand the game and the situations within the game.”

Q: Where do you feel like the depth is on offense?

Shapen: “I feel like we’re in a good spot. Obviously, you’re going to have injuries especially in week four or week five you’re going to start finding guys going down. For us the biggest thing is being able to plug in guys. It doesn’t matter who is in the game whether you’re a one, two or even a three, you’re expected to come in and be the best you possibly can for the team and know your job just as much as the ones and twos. You can’t control those things and it’s part of football. The biggest thing is picking up the pieces, whoever it is, and execute at the highest level.”

Q: Who is making a push for the number three receiver spot?

Shapen: “Honestly, I think Jordan Mosley. The first few weeks we haven’t been able to find him a ton and that’s partly my fault. There’s a couple of time where he could get the ball and I wasn’t able to get it to him. You look at Brenen and Ant, we’re always talking about them, but you look at J-Mo too. Obviously he hasn’t seen the ball as much as those guys but he’s looking at a breakout game here soon and I’m excited to see it.”