AUSTIN – The Mississippi State Bulldogs will have a different quarterback at the helm when they face the Texas Longhorns next week.

In Saturday’s 45-28 loss to Florida, Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen suffered a shoulder injury that will sideline him against Texas and require surgery. Mississippi State’s other quarterbacks on the roster are Chris Parson, freshman Michael Van Buren Jr. and Jake Weir.

“We are all heartbroken following this unfortunate news involving Blake,” Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby said after the game, according to a team announcement on Mississippi State’s website. “Blake is the ultimate competitor and teammate and an undisputed leader in our program. I know he will work incredibly hard to come back stronger than ever, and he will continue to serve as a team leader from the sidelines. We will support Blake every step of the way in his recovery process and explore all options to help him apply for a medical exemption to regain his lost year of eligibility.”

After Shapen went down against Florida, Van Buren Jr. stepped in and completed 7 of 13 passes for 100 yards. Parson, who completed 0 of 2 passes through the air in the season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky, is the only other quarterback on the team to attempt a pass this season.

Although Van Buren Jr. was the first off the bench against the Gators, it’s unclear who will start in place of Shapen, who will miss the Big 12 reunion game against Texas. Shapen played three years at Baylor and faced the Longhorns once as a starter, a game that ended in a 38-27 home victory for Texas in the final regular-season game of the 2022 season.

In four appearances with Mississippi State this season, Shapen completed 61 of 87 passes for 834 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception, along with two rushing touchdowns. Given his experience and his experience with Texas at DKR, Shapen would have given the Bulldogs the best chance to pull off the upset. Instead, they could potentially turn to Van Buren Jr., a true freshman.

Regardless of who the opposing quarterback is, the Longhorns will prepare with the same intensity they began this season with.

“We start SEC play next week and we need to stay the course,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after Saturday’s game. “We don’t have to do anything differently. We just have to believe in our process and trust it. We have a winning formula and I think they’ve now understood that if we do it right, we can play at a pretty high level. And we need to build on that again this week as we start SEC play next weekend.”

Texas and Mississippi State will face off in Austin at 3:15 p.m. CT.