Greg McElroy says 'nothing is guaranteed' for Blake Shapen at Baylor

Blake Shapen had a solid second season as he took the starting quarterback role at Baylor. Still, it wasn’t the breakout that many were expecting considering the storyline coming into the year. That’s why, heading into his junior campaign, Greg McElroy says to not just expect the reins to be handed right over to Shapen again.

McElroy addressed the Bear’s quarterback spot on Always College Football last week. As of now, he says nothing about Shapen’s position is a guarantee. With several things that Dave Aranda chose to do, though, he thinks the Baylor program is doing everything it can to find a way to motivate Shapen into being the player they need him to be.

“As of right now, nothing is guaranteed with Blake Shapen,” McElroy stated. “He might very well be the starting quarterback next year. But he’s not going to be given that role as of this moment.”

“They bring in Sawyer Robertson, who might be the guy that pushes Shapen to become the player he was bound to become. Shapen did such a great job as a relief and spot starter there in 2021. That led to Dave Aranda making that decision in the spring of last year,” said McElroy. “So it’s very important to get him playing to his potential and, hopefully, Sawyer Robertson, the transfer from Mississippi State, can push Shapen in that regard.”

In tandem with Gerry Bohanon, Shapen showed flashes in 2021. That included his performance in the Big 12 title game after an injury to Bohanon.

Expectations were then high for Shapen in 2022 as he had the spot all to himself. However, it was a bit of a mixed bag by the end of it. On a good note, Shapen threw for just under 2,800 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season. On a bad note, he added 10 interceptions and only completed 63.3% of his passes. Pair that with a lack of mobility and it’s obvious that he fell somewhat short of his projections last season.

Even so, Shapen still has plenty of talent to take that step up that many were expecting now in 2023. McElroy just sees Aranda’s decisions, specifically to add Robertson, as a way to motivate his quarterback into doing that. Shapen has the experience as an upperclassman now and the skillset to make something happen in Waco this fall. Whether he accepts that challenge and makes anything happen at all just remains to be seen.