40 in 40: The Bulldogs’ most important player in 2025

In this series listing the 40 most important Mississippi State players, there have been obvious players and coaches included.

There have also been some less obvious choices and there’ll be more to come as we will soon get the first official depth chart of the season.

But we’ve also waited to include the most obvious and most important player for the Bulldogs this season, mostly because it’s so obvious it’s borderline boring.

No matter the team, the starting quarterback is important. If not for any on-the-field reasons, then because they’re usually the face of the team.

And that brings us to Mississippi State’s starting quarterback, Blake Shapen.

Who is Blake Shapen?

A native of Shreveport, La., Shapen was a four-star prospect out of Evangel Christian Academy where he threw for 2,049 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions while also running for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He was also a talented baseball prospect and was rated as the No. 1 shortstop in Louisiana.

Shapen wound up choosing Baylor over offers from USC, UCLA and Arizona State. He didn’t play in any games in his 2020 true freshman season. The following season he played in six games and started two, including Baylor’s Big 12 championship game victory over Oklahoma State. In that game, Shapen set a collegiate record with 17 consecutive completions, while throwing for 180 yards and three touchdowns.

In 2022, Shapen started all 13 games for Baylor and earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors with 2,709 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The next season, Shapen started eight games before ending his season due to an injury. In those eight games he threw for 2,188 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

What happened in 2024?

After four seasons at Baylor, Shapen transferred to Mississippi State where he was set to lead Jeff Lebby’s fast-paced, high-flying offense. However, another injury ended his season after only four games.

In those four games, though, Shapen was effective. He threw for 974 yards and eight touchdowns (both finished as third most in the SEC). Shapen was able to earn a medical hardship waiver, giving him another year of eligibility.

Why will he be important in 2025?

Beyond the obvious reasons that make every football team’s starting quarterback important, right?

Remember the three traits that land players on this list: Experience. Talent. Leadership.

Shapen has been playing college football since 2020 and has started 27 of the 31 career games he’s played in. That covers the experience.

He has more than 6,500 career passing yards and 44 career touchdowns. He led a Power 4 team to conference championship game win. He’s shown the talent.

And, for leadership, quarterbacks are default leaders and with the experience Shapen has, his teammates will struggle to surprise him with something he hasn’t seen before. (Ditto for defensive coordinators.)

It’s almost too-cliché to say a quarterback is the most important player on a team, but for Mississippi State, who is hoping its offseason improvements leads to more than two wins, Shapen is the most important player.

Previous 40 in 40 Coaches and Players:

Coaches

Jeff Lebby, Head Coach
Coleman Hutzler, Defensive Coordinator
Phil Loadholt, Offensive line coach

Players

Deonte Anderson, DL
Jaray Bledsoe, DL
Kedrick Bingley-Jones, DL
Canon Boone, OL
Davon Booth, RB
Fluff Bothwell, RB
DeAgo Brumfield, DB
Jamil Burroughs, DL
Kalvin Dinkins, DL
Antony Evans III, WR
Kyle Ferrie, K
Red Hibbler, DL
Branden Jennings, DL
Ricky Johnson, WR
Kelley Jones, DB
Luke Kromenhoek, QB
Brylan Lanier, DB
Jahron Manning, DB
Nic Mitchell, LB
Jordan Mosley, WR
Ethan Pulliam, P
Albert Reese IV, OL
Isaac Smith, S
Blake Steen, OL
Malick Sylla, LB
Brenen Thompson, WR
Zakari Tillman, Edge
Seydou Traore, TE
Hunter Washington, DB

Will Whitson, DL
Ayden Williams, WR