On Saturday morning Mississippi State will hold its second scrimmage of training camp and the offense looks to rebound. In the first scrimmage last weekend, head coach Jeff Lebby noted that the defense was the storyline and in particular, the defense’s ability to force turnovers.

Naturally, that didn’t sit well with Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen and his side of the ball. Following Thursday’s practice, Shapen met with the media to share his thoughts on that scrimmage and the upcoming scrimmage on Saturday?

Q: What are your thoughts on the first scrimmage and then going into the second scrimmage?
Shapen: I mean obviously it’s frustrating whenever the defense does come out and we’re flat and we’re struggling, and they’re getting stops and they’re getting off the field. It’s frustrating for our side at times. But it’s also a good thing for our team knowing that they’re pushing us to be better every single day. Seeing those guys fly around, the energy that they have, there’s a big difference.

So it’s fun seeing it. But at the same time we’ve got to execute at a higher level. We’ve got to look at each day and grow from each day moving forward.

Q: You see that defense every day. What’s their biggest difference this year?
Shapen: I would just say the unity of the group. I feel like they play together. I feel like they communicate at a very high level. You can just hear them talking every single play. They know where to go, they’re playing fast. I think that’s the biggest thing for me, the speed of the defense and how fast whether they’re pressuring, whether they’re disguising looks, things like that. I feel like they do a good job of that and communicate and playing really fast.

Q: What do you want to see improve on offense in this next scrimmage?
Shapen: I think for us, we came out and scored in like seven plays. So for us, it’s to be able to keep our foot on the gas. Like whenever we have momentum being able to keep the momentum, not stalling. Whenever we start fast we’ve got to finish strong, too. And I think that’s the message to the guys and for me, is whenever we come off is to be able to encourage them like let’s do that again. It feels really good whenever we do that, let’s do it again and make it happen. One time isn’t enough for us.

So really being able to focus on that and then for us, just sticking together. We’ve got a good group of receivers and are athletic at that position. The 0-line has been working their tail off every day. So, just coming together.

Q: Earlier this week Ricky Johnson said the receiver room last year was selfish at times but this year’s room is more together. Do your see that?
Shapen: Yeah, for sure. I mean, no disrespect to last year’s group or anything like that, but this year’s group, they’re the whole package. Off the field I’ve said many times. They’re great dudes. When they enter the building, not selfish at all, ready to come to work and get better. And that’s what you’ve seen from those guys every day.