Unexpected return to State makes for hungry Blake Shapen in 2025

ATLANTA – A year after representing Mississippi State at SEC Media Days prior to his senior season, quarterback Blake Shapen was back running the gauntlet of interviews in 2025.

Shapen was supposed to be working towards his first season of pro football or whatever life had planned for him, but his football journey took a different turn. In the middle of the second half of the matchup against Florida early in the season, Shapen was taken down on his shoulder and something felt wrong.

After giving it a go for another drive, the veteran QB knew something was wrong. That injury would prove to be season-ending, but it also provided a blessing in disguise as he gets one more season of college eligibility.

“As hard as it was going through, what we went through, being year two in the offense and being able to come back, man, I think he’s got a chance to have a great year,” head coach Jeff Lebby said of Shapen. “He’s been an unbelievable leader for us, his consistency, his buy in the way he’s worked, what he’s done with his body being 212, pounds for the first time ever, he’s had great buy in to understand and the biggest thing for him to staying healthy. We got to do a great job of keeping him upright, keeping him clean. But excited about having him back.”

Shapen brings plenty of experience to State offense

Shapen enters his second year in Starkville with a whole lot of experience under his belt. The Shreveport, La., native spent three years at Baylor where he accounted for over 5,000 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

After dealing with injuries there that would create opportunities for players like former Bulldog Sawyer Robertson, Shapen wanted a new start. Lebby gave him that opportunity and he would throw for 974 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception and a 69% completion percentage in four games. It was a solid start to the year, though the Bulldogs started off poorly as a team.

This year, Shapen has worked to improve every aspect of his job as a QB, including his leadership.

“The biggest thing is the X’s and O’s piece in the system of the offense. Being able to move a lot faster than I was last year is a big thing for me and then moving with tempo but also being able to lead other guys too,” Shapen said of improvements in his final year. “I feel like last year I was very focused on the offense. This year I have a lot of opportunity to lead other guys and get guys in spots.”

Chemistry with teammates at the forefront for Shapen

QB 1 certainly does his part in the offseason leading his guys.

One of the most important things to Shapen as the QB of the team is having a great relationship with his wide receivers, offensive linemen and running backs. The WR especially have been a position group at the forefront of team building for Shapen as the group is made up of a whole lot of new faces.

The chemistry is coming along and Shapen likes the talent around him.

“They’re talented. We’ve put a lot of work in together. I think this is the most talented room I’ve been a part of in the receiving room. It’s pretty cool to see those guys work and get better every single day and they’re a special group of guys to hang with outside the building also.”

On the line, there might be turnover there as well but there’s also some familiarity.

Returning players that were in the two deep last season exist on the roster as Shapen will have players like Albert Reese, Luke Work, Canon Boone, Jacoby Jackson and Jimothy Lewis are back.

There was also an influx of linemen out of the portal that came in to compete for starting spots. Two of those are Virginia’s Blake Steen and Colorado’s Zack Owens and they’ve impressed before even starting practicing with Shapen and the team.

“They’re a good group of dudes and work hard,” Shapen said of the line. “You see guys coming into the building to get extra treatment and extra rehab to better themselves and get in the playbook. I’ve been around Blake Steen for a month and a half or so and he’s a great dude. You look at Zack, same thing – great dude. They work hard and are big guys so it was huge to add those guys.”

Shapen might not have thought he would be back for more SEC action this season, but he’s certainly blessed that he is.

Entering the season, the Louisiana native has a mindset that is growing across the board on the team as everyone is ready to get the Bulldog program back on track. Having a QB set for year two in Lebby’s system can only be good.

“It’s a huge advantage. And again, inside this system, regardless of where I’ve been, who I’ve coached, you look at the quarterback in year two of the system, and it’s been a huge, huge jump,” Lebby said. “Through four games last year, we didn’t do what we needed to do while he was the starter. But you look at him statistically and from a production standpoint, the guy was playing pretty clean football, and he’ll build on that in a great way. I’m excited about that.”