Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen focused on health, breakout in Year 2 under Jeff Lebby

Blake Shapen has played a lot of college football as a sixth-year senior. But at SEC Media Days on Wednesday in Atlanta, the Mississippi State quarterback made one thing clear: he hasn’t played the season he’s capable of.

“For me, just staying healthy,” Shapen said. “That’s the first thing that comes to mind. I want to be able to play a full season of college football. I haven’t been able to do that since like 2022, so that’s the biggest goal for me.”

Shapen transferred to Mississippi State in December 2023 after four seasons at Baylor, where he went 10-13 as a starter but made an early name for himself by leading the Bears to a Big 12 Championship in 2021. That title came in just his second career start.

He arrived in Starkville with hopes of piloting Jeff Lebby’s uptempo offense in Year 1, but those plans were cut short. Shapen started the first four games of the 2024 season before a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Without him, the Bulldogs spiraled to a 2-10 finish and went winless in SEC play, leaving major questions about what the offense — and particularly the Shapen-Lebby pairing — might’ve been.

Now healthy and entering his second season in the system, Shapen finally has the opportunity to answer them.

“Regardless of where I’ve been, who I’ve coached, you look at the quarterback in Year 2 of this system and it’s been a huge, huge jump,” Lebby said. 

There’s history to back that up.

At Ole Miss in 2021, quarterback Matt Corral took a major step forward in his second year under Lebby, sharpening his touchdown-to-interception ratio and setting multiple career highs across the board. He helped lead the Rebels to their first 10-win season since 2015.

Dillon Gabriel followed a similar Year 2 trajectory at Oklahoma. In 2023, he threw for 30 touchdowns with just six interceptions, guiding the Sooners to a 10-win campaign while posting personal bests in several key categories.

Shapen looked sharp in limited action last year. In four starts, he completed 68.5% of his passes for 974 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. He also added two rushing scores. Mississippi State lost all three of the games against FBS opponents — largely due to a defense that allowed an average of 38.6 points in those matchups — but Shapen provided a steady presence at quarterback.

The sample size was small, but promising, offering the Bulldogs a clearer foundation heading into the offseason.

Since then, Shapen and Lebby have only grown closer — and the veteran quarterback’s presence is already shaping the team’s identity.

“Ever since he started recruiting me, I feel like me and him hit it off right off the bat,” Shapen said. “We have a good relationship outside of the building, but also inside the building from coach to player.”

That relationship is fueling confidence in an offense that aims to be more balanced in 2025. Mississippi State ranked 106th nationally in run success rate last season (38.5%), per TruMedia, but the Bulldogs expect a leap thanks to improved depth at running back.

Shapen sees the ground game as the key to unlocking the rest of the offense.

“I feel like running the football is where it starts, to be able to open up the touch game and screens and explosive plays down the field with the play-action game,” Shapen said. “So running the football is going to be huge and making plays down the field.”

With a full offseason to gel and a clearer direction, the focus is straightforward for Shapen: play efficient, explosive football — and stay healthy.

Even as he sat out much of the 2024 campaign, Shapen embraced a leadership role, mentoring younger quarterbacks like Michael Van Buren — who has since transferred to LSU. He now leads that room, with highly regarded freshman Kamario Taylor and Florida State transfer Luke Kromenhoek backing him up.

“Blake has done an incredible job leading that group,” Lebby said. “Those guys understand, man, the expectation of how we have to work at that position inside our program.”

Mississippi State enters the fall with the SEC’s longest conference title odds (+30000) and a projected win total of just 3.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. But neither Shapen nor his coach are paying much attention to the preseason projections.

“For me personally it’s going to be exciting to get back on the field,” Shapen said. “The biggest focus is just going 1-0. Got a lot of talented players, so we got to be ready to go Week 1.”