Mississippi State QB returning for 2025 amid Jackson Arnold buzz

Mississippi State football quarterback Blake Shapen missed a large portion of the Bulldogs’ 2024 season due to injury. However, he will not be going anywhere for the 2025 season, as Shapen announced on his X page.

“Running it back with my DAWGS,” Shapen posted with a photo of him in a Mississippi State jersey.

His campaign in his first year at Mississippi State was cut short due to a season-ending shoulder injury. Shapen was sidelined for eight games because of it.

There was a large amount of speculation surrounding several aspects of the Bulldogs quarterback situation toward the end of the schedule, in which Mississippi State finished with an abysmal 2-10 overall record.

Would Shapen stay or go? What would the future look like for Michael Van Buren Jr., who showed spark at times and gave even the Georgia defense some issues? Mississippi State could pursue Oklahoma quarterback transfer Jackson Arnold, who some believed was never given enough of a chance with the Sooners.

At least for now, it appears the Bulldogs will roll forward with Shapen after he transferred from Baylor following the loss of now-Washington Huskies quarterback Will Rogers. Based on Shapen’s decision to remain with the team, he seems to be optimistic and confident in his future as the team’s starting quarterback even with the college football transfer portal heating up as much as it is.

The Bulldogs are among the teams mentioned to be potentially in contention to land Arnold, which does not seem to be impacting Shapen here.

Shapen played in four games in 2024 with the Bulldogs, completing 74 of his 108 passing attempts for 974 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception. He also yielded a pair of scores on the ground. So far in his career, Shapen holds a completion rate of

The Bulldogs will hope he carries on the level of play he displayed over this stretch into a 2025 season in which they will desperately be looking to bounce back as the most lowly team in the SEC.