Mississippi State lands Baylor transfer QB Shapen
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Pete Thamel, ESPNDec 8, 2023, 07:11 PM ET
Baylor quarterback Blake Shapen has actually dedicated to move to Mississippi State, he told ESPN on Friday.Shapen was among the
most skilled and productive quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal, as he started 23 profession games at Baylor over 3 seasons. In three seasons there, he tossed for 5,574 yards, 36 touchdowns and completed 63.7% of his passes.He’ll connect with first-year Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby
, a noted genius of respected offenses. Shapen got strong interest from a flurry of Power 5 programs, but eventually discovered the best fit and offensive capacity in Starkville.He’ll be instantly qualified and has at least one season of eligibility remaining.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Shapen
‘s spoken commitment came even before he went to formally, although he did check out the campus during high school recruiting.(
Shapen was
also a strong baseball hire in high school.)Shapen prepares to go to Starkville next weekend, as Mississippi State is slated to host a handful of prominent wide receivers from the transfer website. He
‘ll quickly turn at that point from hire to employer to attempt and draw leading ability talent.Shapen didn’t take any visits, as he had a couple of organized but quickly focused on Mississippi State as his top choice. When they reciprocated, a choice came quickly.Lebby is entering his very first season as head coach at Mississippi State.
He takes over for Zach Arnett, who didn’t last a full season in 2023 after being promoted after the 2022 season from interim coach in the wake of Mike Leach’s death.Lebby is anticipated to rapidly give the Bulldogs an identity on offense, as he’s a disciple of the spread offense with unrelenting tempo that was made popular at Baylor. That means Shapen will be going into a pass-heavy system anticipated on aggressiveness.Mississippi State opens next season with a game versus Eastern Kentucky before taking a trip to Arizona State.