Early Mississippi State spring football takeaways, including new quarterback Blake Shapen

STARKVILLE — Coach Jeff Lebby was sporting a white hat, wearing it backwards as he watched the Mississippi State quarterbacks go through drills Tuesday. Defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler was on the opposite end of the field, throwing his hands in a circle as he motioned for players to rotate between stations.

As they tended to their jobs, music blared from the speakers surrounding MSU’s practice fields while whistles echoed from the turf.

The sounds of spring football practice have returned to Starkville, but they've come with a new cast ahead of the 2024 season. Former coach Zach Arnett and much of his staff are gone while Lebby, a first-time head coach, and his assistants have taken over a program hungry for success after a five-win campaign in 2023.

One week into their first spring session, there’s plenty to shore up and implement for the Bulldogs. However, some answers have been provided regarding a program overcoming dramatic change. Here’s what we’ve learned about Mississippi State through four practices.

Who are Mississippi State’s starting, backup quarterbacks?

There’s little surprise that Blake Shapen, a transfer from Baylor, is on track for a starting quarterback job in his first season at Mississippi State.

“He injected himself as a leader early,” sophomore receiver Creed Whittemore said. “He was getting us out here. We were throwing. We’re pretty confident with him right now. He throws a very pretty deep ball. He’s on time. He almost throws it like he plays baseball, which he did for a little bit. In this offense, it’s a good thing. He gets the ball out quick and it on time for us.”

Behind Shapen, sophomore Chris Parson is emerging as the backup ahead of senior Mike Wright and freshman Michael Van Buren.

Parson was an All-SEC freshman team selection last season after throwing for 103 yards across two games (one start).

Keyvone Lee taking first-team running back reps

During a 20-minute viewing period open to media members on Tuesday, Mississippi State ran a handful of 11-on-11 drills. In those, running back Keyvone Lee took the first-team snaps.

Lee is entering his second season at MSU after transferring from Penn State last year. In his first season with the Bulldogs, he ran for 75 yards on 12 attempts with no scores. At Penn State, he had 1,062 rushing yards on 222 attempts with six touchdowns across 27 games in three seasons.

Behind Lee, a pair of junior college products in Jeffery Pittman and Johnnie Daniels took second-team reps.

Pittman, like Lee, made his Mississippi State debut last season out of Hinds Community College. He ran for 268 yards on 54 attempts while catching 13 passes for 91 yards – including a 29-yard reception touchdown in an overtime win against Arizona.

Daniels is entering his first season at MSU out of Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

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Mississippi State’s new-look offensive line

When Mississippi State opens on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky, there will be a revamped offensive line in front of Shapen.

The Bulldogs will be replacing their entire starting five, and a pair of transfers will likely be part of the new group.

In the open practice session, Mississippi State had Albert Reese at left tackle, Jacoby Jackson at left guard, Ethan Miner at center, Canon Boone at right guard and Leon Bell at right tackle.

Reese, Boone and Bell are returners who have struggled to find consistent playing time at MSU. Miner was among the nation’s top-rated centers in the country, according to Pro Football Focus, last season who came to MSU from North Texas in the offseason. Jackson spent the last three years at Texas Tech.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Blake Shapen: Mississippi State football spring practice update