STARKVILLE – New Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen was available to the media Wednesday for the first time since the Bulldogs’ first preseason scrimmage on Sunday.
Shapen, who transferred from Baylor, was asked to provide an evaluation of the practice game after practice.
“I thought it was good,” he said. “Obviously there are things we need to improve on both offensively and defensively, across the board. Overall, it was a pretty good first practice game. I feel like everyone played hard. The effort was there. We just need to improve a few things – execution and otherwise.”
The Bulldogs open the 2024 season on August 31 against Eastern Kentucky (SEC Network+, 5 p.m.) at Davis Wade Stadium. They have another preseason game on Saturday.
“It’s going to be close, so we need to get some things right,” Shapen said. “And the goal is for us to get better. Right now we’re not really that far ahead. We’re thinking about what happened today, and that’s the path we’re on.”
DANDY DOZEN: Meet the Dandy Dozen of the 2024 Clarion Ledger High School football team in Mississippi
What Blake Shapen said about Jeff Lebby’s offense
One of the areas new coach Jeff Lebby identified Sunday as needing improvement is the high offensive tempo, a hallmark of his offense. Other players have noted that they have to adjust to Lebby’s pace of play, but the offense can only be as fast as Shapen allows it to be.
“I was in a pro offense at Baylor, so this offense is a lot different,” Shapen said. “I was under center 50 percent of the time, and here it’s mostly shotgun and stuff and fast forwards. I’ve never really paced before, so this is my first time.”
What Blake Shapen said about Chris Parson and Michael Van Buren
Behind Shapen is competition for Mississippi State’s second quarterback. Chris Parson returns for his redshirt freshman season after starting last season at Texas A&M. The Bulldogs also signed Michael Van Buren Jr., a three-star freshman from Baltimore.
“I think those two guys are really good quarterbacks,” Shapen said. “They push me every day. They come to work, we all do this together and get better. So it’s good.”
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss reporter for the Hattiesburg American. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
