Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen out for the rest of 2024 season

A bad season just got worse for Mississippi State football. Saturday night, Mississippi State announced that senior quarterback Blake Shapen will miss the remainder of the 2024 season after suffering a shoulder injury in the 4th quarter of the Bulldogs' 45-28 loss to Florida. Shapen will require surgery that will sideline him for the year.

Head Coach Jeff Lebby said following the game that they would "know more" about Blake Shapen's status Saturday night into Sunday morning. And unfortunately, what they learned was the worst possible outcome. According to the release from the program, Mississippi State will work to help Shapen earn an extra year of eligibility due to medical hardship.

Shapen, sadly, has been plagued with injuries throughout his college career. An injury suffered in last season's season-opener at Baylor sidelined him for three games, and he would later miss the Bears' season-finale with another injury. Shapen was also banged-up in 2022 despite playing the entirety of the season. Hopefully he can be granted a waiver from the NCAA to make up for the time he's lost on the field.

It's now on either Chris Parson or Michael Van Buren to lead the Mississippi State offense

With Blake Shapen out, the Bulldogs will now turn to one of two young QBs to run the show on offense. Either redshirt freshman Chris Parson or true freshman Michael Van Buren will take over as starter under center. Parson has been the assumed #2 since the spring, but when Shapen went down agaisnt Florida, it was Van Buren that came in the game.

Van Buren played well in relief of Shapen. He completed 7-13 passes for 100 yards, leading a touchdown drive and nearly leading another at the end of the game. After a solid first appearance, he seems to be the leading candidate to start when the Bulldogs head to Austin next week.

Regardless of who starts, Jeff Lebby's task of getting his offense rolling this season just got significantly harder. Rather than having a seasoned-vet running the show, he'll be turning over the reigns to a highly inexperienced passer. It will be even more crucial that State can continue the success they found running the football against the Gators to take pressure off the QB. Everyone on offense is going to have to step up and carry more of a load with Shapen out.

Jeff Lebby said on Saturday he expects his team to continue fighting despite the adversity faced so far. The team is going to have fight even harder now with one of their leaders done for the year.