Blake Shapen injury update: Jeff Lebby updates health entering spring practice

Head coach Jeff Lebby was always going to need to rebuild the Mississippi State Bulldogs program. However, losing starting quarterback Blake Shapen for the season due to injury threw a wrench into the first year for Lebby in Starkville.

Now, Shapen has returned for another season of college football. As Spring practice is underway, Shapen appears to be back at practice and working with the ones, which Lebby attributed to the hard work that he’s put in during a recent injury update.

“He feels great,” Jeff Lebby said. “He got all the reps with the ones today. He’ll continue to work and put himself in a position to play at a really high level.”

The 2024 season was Shapen’s first with Mississippi State. He was only able to play in four games before he went down with his season-ending injury. That was an injury to his shoulder and he would later announce his decision to return to the Bulldogs following the season. In the time that he did play, he completed 68.5 percent of his passes for 974 yards and eight touchdowns to one interception. He also rushed for 36 yards and two touchdowns.

Blake Shapen began his career at Baylor in 2020, making this his sixth season of college football. It’s also his second at Mississippi State and his second under Jeff Lebby. That gives him some added experience, even if the injury limited his playing time in 2024, which has helped him to work with the top unit at Mississippi State.

“Blake is light years ahead of where the other guys are at,” Lebby said. “Because of the reps that he’s gotten and the work that he’s had and the experience that he has. So, again, he’s a guy that’s got great command of what we want. He’s the healthiest and the biggest and the strongest he’s ever been in his career being at 210 lbs. That was key for us. It’s a key for him. Again, it’s a credit to him because he spent the time.”

After being injured, Blake Shapen was replaced by then freshman Michael Van Buren for the final eight games of the season. However, he has made the decision to transfer to the LSU Tigers since then.

Behind Shapen, there are several other quarterback options for Lebby to choose from. A pair of transfers, Chris Parson from Austin Peay and Luke Kromenhoek from Florida State, are also now in Starkville. Then, Class of 2025 recruit Kamario Taylor comes to Mississippi State as a four-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Regardless of who does play quarterback, Jeff Lebby knows that a 2-10 first season wasn’t good enough. Finding a way to improve on that is key and getting the right signal caller under center is vital to the Bulldogs.