Jeff Lebby's quarterback room shows tremendous upside for present, future

A level of dread filled the stands of Davis Wade Stadium as Arizona State began to drive the ball down the field on Mississippi State’s defense two weeks ago as fans sensed what could be on the way.

The Bulldog defense would bow up and force the Sun Devils to a field goal in the waning minutes, but a 17-0 lead had vanished and ASU had the lead for the first time. Confidence never left Bulldog quarterback Blake Shapen in that moment and it never left his teammates, either.

The MSU production team caught Shapen exclaiming from the sidelines he was about to win the ball game. ESPN caught a different player with that same kind of confidence in Shapen to make the plays necessary to go rip victory from the clutched fists of the Sun Devils.

True freshman Kamario Taylor can be seen walking over to Shapen as the senior signal caller was taking warm up tosses on the sidelines. The Noxubee County product uttered a simple phrase: “I believe in you.” A few plays later, Shapen tossed a touchdown for the ages as Brenen Thompson took off and left the ASU defense to go do exactly what Shapen and Taylor believed they would do.

“The relationship that we’ve been able to build when they first got here has been tremendous,” Shapen said. “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 think that’s where it came from.

“(Taylor) 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.”

Health of Lebby’s room is strong

In one year, head coach Jeff Lebby has begun to change the culture in Starkville in a major way and it has started at the quarterback position. A coach that began his career on the offensive line, Lebby has become someone that has a high hit rate on his quarterbacks.

The room at State is especially strong in year two and has a veteran leader in Shapen that has commanded respect from his teammates. Behind him are two young and dynamic players in the freshman Taylor and sophomore Florida State transfer Luke Kromenhoek and it’s made for a really good situation for Lebby’s offense.

In a 63-0 blowout win over Alcorn State, Shapen finally got to sit back and watch both of them go. It was 42-0 at halftime and the senior had his pads and helmet off for the rest of the game as he turned the keys over to the backups. They got the job done accordingly.

“It’s awesome to see,” Shapen said of the work of the young QBs. “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.”

Both Taylor and Kromenhoek had a chance to score their first touchdowns as Bulldogs in the game. Kromenhoek finished with a 13-yard competition and rushed for a 3-yard touchdown in the game.

For Taylor, he showed off the arms and legs in extended fashion with three carries for 40 yards and a 2-for-3 showing through the air for 46 yards and one touchdown. That touchdown wowed everyone in the stands as he came in the game and lined up at receiver, taking a toss from Shapen and then delivering a 42-yard bomb to Brenen Thompson for a score in the first quarter.

That play – and what fans saw the rest of the ball game – gave a snapshot into what kind of talent Lebby has on his hands.

“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 (Anthony 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,” Shapen said.

“The next play, being able to fake the pitch 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.”

Though all three players want to be the man on the field to deliver the biggest plays, this trio’s strength is their unity.

It’s a group of players that have known each other for eight months, but they’ve formed their own brotherhood. When the sun sets, they want what’s best for the team and success for their fellow QB means success for the rest of them.

“It talks to who they are, but also what’s going on inside our building every day. Big we, little me, that’s what we talk about non-stop,” Lebby said of the quarterbacks. “How can we find ways to help the team? How do we have the ability to make sure we are we embracing our role and doing everything we can just to become the best version of ourselves every day. Those guys are trying to do that and it’s fun to see.”