What Blake Shapen said about Mississippi State football's first scrimmage, Jeff Lebby's tempo

STARKVILLE — New Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen football had his first media availability on Wednesday since the Bulldogs' first preseason scrimmage on Sunday.

Shapen, who is a Baylor transfer, was asked to give an evaluation on the scrimmage after practice.

“I thought it was good,” he said. “Obviously there are things we need to improve on just offensively and defensively, so all over the board. Overall, it was a pretty good first scrimmage. I feel like everybody played hard. The effort was there. We just got to clean up some things – execution and otherwise.”

The Bulldogs open the 2024 season against Eastern Kentucky on Aug. 31 (SEC Network+, 5 p.m.) at Davis Wade Stadium. They have one more preseason scrimmage on Saturday.

“It’s coming up here close so we got to fix some things,” Shapen said. “And that’s the goal is just for us to get better. We aren’t really too far ahead right now. We’re thinking about what’s going on today and that’s the path we’re on.”

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What Blake Shapen said about Jeff Lebby's offense

One of the things new coach Jeff Lebby mentioned Sunday as an area for improvement is the high offensive tempo, a staple in his offense. Other players have noted having to adjust to the speed Lebby likes to play at, but the offense can only go as fast as Shapen will let it.

“I was in a pro-style offense at Baylor, so this offense is way different,” Shapen said. “I was under center 50% of the time, and here it’s mostly shotgun and things like that and moving fast. I’ve never really done tempo so this is my first time doing it.”

What Blake Shapen said about Chris Parson, Michael Van Buren

Behind Shapen is a competition for Mississippi State’s second-string quarterback. Chris Parson returns for his redshirt freshman season after starting the Texas A&M game last season. The Bulldogs also signed Michael Van Buren Jr., a three-star freshman from Baltimore.

"I think both those guys are really good quarterbacks,” Shapen said. “They push me every single day. They come in to work, we're all doing this thing together, getting better. So, it's been good."

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: What Blake Shapen said about Mississippi State football's first scrimmage, Jeff Lebby's tempo