Mississippi State hosts spring football game

Team White defeated Team Maroon 9-0

STARKVILLE, MS (WCBI)- It may not be the fall just yet, but that doesn’t mean that the Mississippi State football team hasn’t been putting in work.

The Bulldogs hosted fans for its annual spring football game, giving the Bulldog faithful a sneak peak into next year’s team. The Bulldogs have added more than 40 new players since the end of last season, making Saturday’s spring game the first time that many of the team has played in front of its fans.

“Our guy’s energy was good,” Head Coach Jeff Lebby said. “I thought at times defensively, we really flew around. I thought there was physicality on both lines of scrimmage. On the defensive side of the ball, they did a good job.”

While the team has welcomed so many new faces into the program, quarterback Blake Shapen is not one of them. Last season’s week one starting signal caller retuned to Mississippi State for this upcoming season after sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury in week four. While he did not play most of last season, Shapen believes that this year’s team has a much different feel to it.

“We’ve came a long ways from when we started,” Shapen said. “I feel good. We’ve made a lot of progress in spring ball and I feel like guys have been very intentional in coming in every day and working hard.”

The Bulldogs have now completed 15 practices this spring in preparation for next season. The Bulldogs open the 2025 season in Hattiesburg against Southern Miss on August 30.