Mississippi State QB Jake Weir enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Mississippi State senior quarterback Jake Weir has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. The Tupelo-native will have one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

Weir, a former walk-on, enters the transfer portal without any collegiate stats or participation in three seasons in Starkville.

With former Baylor transfer Blake Shapen the expected starter and Mississippi State adding former Florida State standout Luke Kromenhoek and Austin Peay transfer Chris Parson out of the portal in the Winter, Weir’s road to playing time in 2025 was cloudy at best.

According to his Mississippi State profile, Weir was a three-star prospect according to Rivals but opted for a preferred walk-on opportunity over offers from Southern Illinois and Tennessee-Martin. Weir threw for 3,567 yards and 29 touchdowns over his final two seasons in Tupelo, including a pair of rushing scores.

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.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.