BIG 12 CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: BAYLOR VS OKLAHOMA STATE

December 4, 2021

Blake Shapen

AT&T Stadium

Baylor Bears

Postgame Press Conference

Baylor 21, Oklahoma State 16

Q. Blake, I'm guessing you probably didn't have a whole lot of nerves since you completed your first 17 passes. What was it like for you to start this game and just knowing what all it meant?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, it was awesome. I mean, this is something you dream about as a little kid growing up. We wouldn't be in this position without Gerry and the things that he's done for this team moving forward. My job was just to replace him and try not to lose a beat, so that was the main thing.

Q. Blake, you're the first Baylor quarterback to ever win a Big 12 Championship game. That last play, did you watch it? Do you close your eyes? How did you react to the Jairon McVea stop?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, so I was on the sidelines. I didn't even watch it, actually. My head was down praying. When we came down to that situation I knew that we had some really tough guys on the defensive side, and they've played their butts off all year, so I had major confidence in them, and so when they made that stop, that wasn't anything new. I knew that was coming.

Q. Talking about your toughness, Coach Aranda said in practice you would just kind of close your eyes and run forward and take a hit. Is that something you pride yourself on because it seems like the past couple games you've been dealing with a little bit of injuries here and there and been able to play through it. How much do you pride yourself on that?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, last game it was just a big hit. I was fine after that. Nothing really happened. Today was like a little shoulder issue.

No, I mean, I've grown up. I've had two older brothers growing up, so I've been roughed around a little bit growing up, so I'm kind of used to that.

Q. One of the things Dave talked about coming into this game was making contested throws. It looked like y'all had a lot of those. I was even thinking about Tyquan's touchdown but there were a lot that were contested. Did you see that from your angle?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, of course the one to Tyquan you're going to see and everyone is going to know that's a contested catch. But there were so many intermediate throws that were contested catches, too. Our guys played great. Our receivers great played. They made all the catches, all the contested catches that we needed to win this game, so yeah.

Q. Just in terms of going from backup quarterback to Big 12 most outstanding player, just in a simple way, how does it feel?

BLAKE SHAPEN: It feels great. Like I said, something you dream about when you're a kid growing up.

Like I said, Gerry has carried this team all the way to this point, and my job was just to finish it out, and I'm so proud of him. Sometimes I'm thinking about like just all this glory or whatever it is, but Gerry should get it just as much as I'm getting right now. I'm so proud for the whole team.

Q. Do you miss baseball at all? Do you think you'll try to play again? Is it just straight football from here on out, especially with today's result?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, right now it's football. I'm not really worried about baseball. We've still got a bowl game to go finish. That's all I'm focused on right now.

Q. Blake, Coach Aranda talks a lot about feeling like he's a good fit for Baylor and Baylor is a good fit for him. What do you think it is about Coach Aranda that's kind of fit this program really well?

BLAKE SHAPEN: I think just the culture that he's brought into the program. I think all of our guys have bought in to what he's taught and what he believes, and I think we all trust in him.

I think that's the outcome of what today happened. We all trust in what he's brought to Baylor, and I think we all bought in, and this is the outcome for that.

Q. Blake, you're a Louisiana dude; have you considered the prospect of going to the Sugar Bowl and if that does happen will you be like the official tour guide for the team?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, I mean, that would be awesome to go back and play in Louisiana. That would be fun. I guess I can show the guys around a little bit. I know a little bit about New Orleans, so yeah.

Q. When you came to Baylor you were playing baseball and football, then you were quickly involved in the quarterback competition. Obviously the coaching staff was showing some confidence in you. Did you feel that even though you were the backup all season, did you feel that they were very confident in your abilities this year?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Oh, yeah, I did. Coach Bell, Coach Grimes, Coach Aranda, I knew how they felt. My job was just to get better each and every week and not look at it as a negative and just look at it as a positive. I just kept my head down. It was so hard to keep your head down at times, but I kept my head down, and my coaches kept encouraging me.

Now, I mean, I give all of them the credit, too, because they helped me get through tough times. Of course you're going to have tough times when you're not playing, but they helped me get through that, and I'm thankful for them.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the recruiting process when you came out, what other school you looked at besides Baylor?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, I think it came down to like USC and Baylor, but the recruiting process is crazy just because of football and baseball, it was crazy. You look at one side, it's already crazy enough, but if you add two sports to it, it's even more crazy.

Q. You were thinking about playing both when you came out and that was part of the process?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yes, sir.

Q. Since you gave that up now, if you had known you were just going to play football, would you still have chosen Baylor?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, for sure, I would have, yeah. I thought it was a good fit when I came on my visit. Coach Aranda just got hired when I came on my visit. Yeah, I would have chose Baylor either way.

Q. Do you want to give time to give a plug to your barber? Any advice on growing a mullet?

BLAKE SHAPEN: No. It's not a mullet, it's a mohawk. Yeah, everyone thinks it's a mullet. It's a mohawk. Yeah, it's something I had in high school and I carried it on to here.

I actually started growing it out throughout the season, but yeah, I don't know what else to say about that.

Q. Blake, can you tell me what Jeff Grimes has meant to this offense and what has Shawn Bell meant to your development this year?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, Coach Grimes I think you've seen with the success we've had all year, we're an attacking multiple-formation offense that runs a few plays a lot of different ways with the most misdirection of anyone in the country. We show that every game. Everyone believes in his scheme, and we bought in.

Coach Bell has been nothing but great for me. Him being a former quarterback has just helped me become a better quarterback myself, so I'm so thankful for those two guys.

Q. What does it mean for this program -- you committed a couple years ago. What's it mean to this program to be Big 12 champs, to be the first team other than Oklahoma to win since 2014, and what does that mean heading forward?

BLAKE SHAPEN: Yeah, it means a lot. I think this can't be something that just stops here. I think we can build on this and be contenders every single year after this if we just keep putting our heads down and keep working hard, so yeah.