Blake Shapen details why he wanted to play for Jeff Lebby

Blake Shapen transferred to Mississippi State with one goal in mind — to play for one of the best offensive-minded coaches in the country.

He believed that’s what he’d get by committing to first-year Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby. Shapen’s mindset hasn’t changed after spending almost a full offseason in Starkville.

“If I knew I was going to get in the transfer portal, I need to have a plan on what I want to do and what I want to accomplish and why I’m getting into it,” Shapen explained to On3’s Andy Staples. “For me, it was to play for offensive-minded head coach.”

The first-year Bulldogs headman certainly checks those boxes. Shapen is also learning a completely new offense under Lebby. He’s transitioning to a spread scheme, which caters to the quarterback, and is completely different from the wide zone he ran at Baylor.

“It’s completely different. I mean, I was running a pro style offense at Baylor . Coming here, we spread it out,” Shapen said. “The splits are a lot wider, deep option routes and different things like that. It’s been new to me, but it’s been a process. I love the offense.”

This isn’t something that Shapen can learn overnight, either. He said it has taken a lot of reps to nail down exactly what Lebby is looking for on the practice field. Foot work plays an added role from what he was used to, as Lebby runs various RPOs and other deep option plays than what was asked of him in Waco. He never ran schemes like this in high school, either. It’s all new for him.

Of course, Lebby’s reputation precedes him in Shapen’s eyes. He helped the Sooners have one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Last season, OU ranked fourth in scoring offense and seventh in total offense. The Sooners ended the year averaging 43 points per game, 502 yards per contest and 6.7 yards per play this season.

Shapen got to see Lebby’s offense in person when Baylor battled Oklahoma last season.

“There were a lot of times where I would watch games and I’d be like, ‘Wow, that looks like a lot of fun. I want to be a part of that,'” Shapen said. “And I think that was the biggest thing for me in person.

“Seeing coach Lebby in person and how he called the game against us whenever he was at OU, I feel like that was a big deal because I got to watch that person. I knew that seeing him personally, I want to be part of that.”

Shapen’s Mississippi State debut is set for Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky, where he’ll put his knowledge of Lebby’s offense on display in front of their home fans in Starkville.

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