DALLAS — Blake Shapen knew as soon as he put his name into the transfer portal that if he received a call from new Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, the former Baylor quarterback would listen closely.
Shapen did not have to wait long. Lebby gave him a call the same day he entered the portal, and four days later, Shapen was officially a Bulldog.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Shapen said Wednesday at Southeastern Conference Media Days. “Starkville is a great community (with) great people. I’ve loved every minute of it so far. I’ve dreamed of playing in the SEC my whole entire life.”
At Baylor, Shapen played in a pro-style offense, spending roughly an equal number of snaps under center and in the shotgun. After redshirting as a freshman, he played in 27 games over the last three years, throwing for 2,188 yards in just eight games last season with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Lebby’s version of the “veer and shoot” offense seems to cater perfectly to Shapen’s skill set. In Shapen’s estimate, MSU will be in the shotgun “95 percent of the time,” giving him a better chance to move around in the pocket and find a receiver deep downfield, check the ball down to a running back or tight end, or tuck it and run.
“It has to do with getting the ball out quick (and) using my legs when I have to,” Shapen said. “Throwing the ball down the field is a big thing in this offense, and I feel like my arm is able to do that. Being able to master the offense in a quick amount of time, I’ve been in college football for four years now, so I’m able to learn the offense pretty quickly, and that’s been a plus for me.”
Against a Bulldogs defense that is admittedly a work in progress at all three levels, Shapen’s talent was on full display at MSU’s spring game in April. He completed 18 of 22 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.
Shapen saw what Lebby’s offense could do from the opposite sideline two years ago when Lebby was Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator. The Bears defeated the Sooners 38-35, but Oklahoma put up 499 yards of offense that day and averaged more than six yards per play. The Sooners were also 10-for-15 on third-down conversions.
“(My teammates on defense) said they were always tired (against that offense),” Shapen said. “There wasn’t a moment in the game where people were not tired. It could be the first drive of the game, four plays in. Even in the spring game, I looked over and somebody was throwing up on the field on the defensive side four or five plays in. It moves very fast.”
The Bulldogs do not return a single starter on offense this fall, but the portal has allowed them to quickly reload under a new coaching staff. Including Shapen, MSU is looking at seven or more starting offensive players who arrived as transfers in the offseason.
With running back Seth Davis to miss the entire season as he recovers from an injury sustained in last year’s Egg Bowl, as Lebby confirmed Wednesday, Utah State transfer Davon Booth is the Bulldogs’ presumptive starter. Three transfers started on the offensive line in the spring game, and Lebby and wide receivers coach Chad Bumphis were able to bring in Kelly Akharaiyi from Texas-El Paso and Kevin Coleman from Louisville to bolster the receiving corps.
“We don’t have a ton of experience with guys who have played at State, but we’ve got guys who have played a bunch of ball at other places, so they knew what it was supposed to look like,” Lebby said. “They ran with it. I’m probably most proud of the growth and leadership in that area since we got done with spring ball.”
Lebby has coordinated some of the best offenses in college football at UCF, Ole Miss and Oklahoma, helping develop Matt Corral and Dillon Gabriel into elite quarterbacks. Shapen’s numbers at Baylor may not compare favorably to Corral or Gabriel, but he could not be spending his final season in a much more ideal offensive system.
“We’re going to have fun. You’re going to see a lot of guys celebrating, having a good time, enjoying the game of football,” Shapen said. “This is a game that we grew up loving to play, and it’s been a blessing for all of us to be able to get to this point.”
Lewis playing for his family as he steps into starting role at linebacker
John Lewis arrived at media days with photos of his younger brother Tyrese, who passed away in 2022, as well as his son Jace, who was born on June 29, on the inside of his suit.
“My little brother Tyrese wanted to play here when he was younger, so I’m just carrying his legacy on,” Lewis said. “And when you’ve got a son, you know. It’s not as hard (balancing parenting and football) as people think it is.”
Lewis has played in 28 of MSU’s last 29 games dating back to 2021 and made his first three collegiate starts last year. With just 23 career tackles under his belt, 20 of them coming in 2023, Lewis is nonetheless among the Bulldogs’ most experienced returning linebackers and one of the leaders in a unit that needs to replace the SEC’s top two tacklers from the last two years, Nathaniel “Bookie” Watson and Jett Johnson.
Like Johnson and 50 of his current teammates, Lewis played high school football in Mississippi, becoming a top-10 recruit in the state according to ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports at Germantown High School. The Egg Bowl rivalry game with Ole Miss, which is moving from Thanksgiving night to Black Friday this year, is already circled on his calendar.
“Everybody wants to see it,” Lewis said. “If we win it, we win the lottery. If we don’t, we lose the lottery. It’s a big deal for everybody, both sides of the team. Mississippi State players, we all want to win. It’s a very big deal for us.
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