Good morning, Bulldogs! The football team has quite the morning routine!

What else do we have brewing today?

⚾️ Tiger town
🎾 Important matches
🐶 And much, much more!

There’s a common thread when you think about some of the best teams to ever compete at Mississippi State.

Leadership.

The top squads to ever wear the Maroon and White have always had lead Dawgs – individuals who set a standard or kept the flame burning through dark times.

Think about it. We’ll just use the last decade-plus. Dak Prescott. Jake Mangum. Tanner Allen. Mia Davidson. Victoria Vivians. Tolu Smith. Cameron Matthews. I’m leaving out many others, but you get the picture.

Those were all not just great players, but strong individuals that could be counted upon both in competition and behind closed doors. They were just as likely to offer motivating messages to teammates as they were to come through with a game-changing play.

One of the things that has me excited about Mississippi State’s 2025 football season as I’ve watched the Bulldogs through the first couple of weeks of spring practice is how it’s a group that has some obvious leaders stepping to the forefront, taking ownership of the team and rallying the troops on a daily basis.

I feel like I always have to throw in a disclaimer like this: none of what I just mentioned guarantees a single win come the fall. But I do wholeheartedly believe the things guys like quarterback Blake Shapen and safety Isaac Smith are bringing to the table day after day greatly improves the chances of success. Head coach Jeff Lebby seemingly believes so, too.

“Blake Shapen is a guy that understands what we want and how we want to go about it,” Lebby said. “I think about Isaac Smith on the defensive side of the ball. [He’s] a guy that knows how we want it done and what it’s all about. Those two guys have been great.”

It’s easy to talk about players’ on-field production when it comes to leadership, and it’s no different for Shapen and Smith. You might recall that Shapen was fourth nationally and second in the Southeastern Conference in Pro Football Focus passing grade prior to his season-ending shoulder injury last year. His overall offensive grade was tied for fourth in the FBS and third in the SEC at the time.

Then there was Smith, who ended the season as an All-SEC player after topping the league in tackles with 127.

All that’s great, but it’s what those two do either between plays or when the pads are completely off that helps truly set them apart. Both earned spots on the 2024 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. So, both are literally doing their homework, both for school and football.

Just listen to the praise Lebby has for Shapen and his work ethic. You can tell how all-in the veteran signal caller is.

“Everybody inside our program has great respect for Blake because of how he plays the game,” Lebby said. “The guy will go die for you and he’ll inspire every day. He spends more time in [the football complex] than anybody inside this program. That’s the expectations we have and that’s what we’re going to have to have to get it done. He’ll continue to do that for us.”

Shapen says he embraces the not-so-flashy side of football. It helps him be the absolute best version of himself, plus enables him to have the knowledge to pass on to teammates.

“I feel like my work ethic has always been pretty good,” Shapen said. “I continue to kind of base my play off of how much I’m in the building and how much I’m studying – whether it’s the playbook, the other side of the ball or things like that. I take pride in all that, and I take pride in getting better and being knowledgeable about the game.”

Now that’s the mentality you want in your quarterback.

Meanwhile Smith is a similar student of the game on the other side of the football. Maybe it’s cliché, but he’s absolutely a quarterback of State’s defense.

He’s a driven young man, and that’s shining through to everyone around him this spring.

“Just been preaching to the guys that we have something to prove,” Smith said. “Everyone came in and worked hard this winter. Now, we have to put a great spring together, a great summer and fall camp, and hey, we’re right [where we want to be].”

Shapen and Smith are certainly a couple of guys you want in the trenches with you. The cool thing about leadership like theirs is that it can also be contagious.

Who else will step up and become lead Dawgs? We’ll find out in the weeks ahead. Obviously, Lebby is building a culture that encourages guys to embrace such roles, regardless of experience level. That should be a boon for the Bulldogs both now and in the seasons to come.

“I’ve said that leadership, to me, knows no age,” Lebby said. “Guys that do the right thing, that are in the building and spend time nonstop, those are the guys that are going to create leadership for our team and take us where we need to go.”

(Coleman’s Corner is brought to you each Thursday by Mississippi State athletics senior writer Joel Coleman. A 2007 and 2009 graduate of Mississippi State, Coleman has worked inside and around MSU sports for nearly two decades with prior stops also including the Starkville Daily News and Sports Illustrated.)

🎙️ DEAR OL’ STATE

Dear Ol’ State: Back In The Win Column With Baton Rouge On Deck. Mississippi State baseball got back to its winning ways with a 6-1 midweek victory over Samford on Tuesday. There was a lot to like in the triumph as the Diamond Dawgs try and carry that momentum down to Baton Rouge for a big three-game series at LSU starting on Thursday. On Dear Ol' State, Joel Coleman discusses the Bulldogs, plus brings you Tuesday night's interviews with head coach Chris Lemonis, catcher Joe Powell and pitcher Dane Burns.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Run-Ruled. No. 18 Mississippi State softball put another tally in the win column on Wednesday, beating Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, 9-1. Morgan Bernardini drove in four runs for the Bulldogs, and Nadia Barbary hit a two-run home run.

🔼 On The Bayou. Mississippi State baseball goes on the road again this weekend, traveling to Baton Rouge, La. for a three-game set starting tonight against No. 8 LSU. The Tigers are 23-3 this season and 4-2 in SEC play, sweeping Missouri in their first conference series.

🔼 Pig Out. No. 17 Mississippi State men’s tennis begins an important weekend of play at home today, hosting No. 38 Arkansas (14-9, 3-6 SEC) at 3 p.m. After their showdown with the Razorbacks today, the Bulldogs host the No. 29 Florida Gators (11-7, 6-3 SEC) this Saturday at 1 p.m.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Own The Series. What is Mississippi State men’s tennis’ all-time record against Arkansas?

Got a guess? 

Scroll to the bottom of the Bulldog Brew to see if you know your stuff!

🤝 SHARE THE BREW

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📆 LOOKING AHEAD

Thursday, March 27
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Arkansas @ 3 p.m. | Live Video
⚾️ Baseball at LSU @ 7 p.m. | SECN | Listen

Friday, March 28
👟 Track & Field at Battle on the Bayou — Baton Rouge, La.
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. South Carolina @ 3 p.m. | Live Video
🥎 Softball vs. Texas @ 6 p.m. | SECN+
⚾️ Baseball at LSU @ 6:30 p.m. | SECN+ | Listen

Saturday, March 29
👟 Track & Field at Battle on the Bayou — Baton Rouge, La.
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Florida @ 1 p.m. | Live Video
🥎 Softball vs. Texas @ 2 p.m. | SECN+
⚾️ Baseball at LSU @ 2 p.m. | SECN+ | Listen

Sunday, March 30
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Georgia @ noon | Live Video
🥎 Softball vs. Texas @ 1 p.m. | SECN+
⚽️ Soccer vs. Memphis @ 3:30 p.m. (EXH)

🐶 Click here to see the full Mississippi State Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 35-8!

The Bulldogs lead the series in Starkville, 16-4.

🐶 Have a great Thursday, y’all!