During his visit to Tempe, the Sun Devils have laid out a detailed plan for Blake Shapen to play both football and baseball at Arizona State. This is why the visit by the 6-1 188-pound quarterback/shortstop from Shreveport Evangel Christian left a deep impression on him and his family.

DevilsDigest: What’s were some of the aspects of your ASU visit that stood out?

Blake Shapen: “I really enjoyed my visit, and they spent a lot of time with us- me and my family- and it was good. The facilities were great, I liked everything about it really. We got to meet with the baseball coaches because I’m going to be two sports, so it worked out pretty good.”

DevilsDigest: Was there one thing that impressed the most of the visit?

“How well the two staffs will work together with me on the two-sport thing. They’re both going to work really well with it. That really surprised me because I haven’t really discussed it with a lot of schools as good as they discussed it with Arizona State. I liked how they planned it all out and how they’re were really approaching me about. I was surprised how it worked out pretty good.”

DevilsDigest: So, what is the plan of playing both sports at Arizona State, if you decided to go there?

Blake Shapen: “It will be switching in and out. When it’s more of baseball season, I’ll be in baseball, and when it’s football season I’ll be with football. It also depends on what kind of role I’m playing in it too. If I’m the starting quarterback, I’m going to be more with football than I will be with baseball. But say I’m not that involved in football, I’ll be more with baseball.”

“If I go there, we’ll see how everything works out and how I’m playing. It will adjust to what I’m trying to do.”

DevilsDigest: So, in other words you would have to skip football’s Spring practice, for example, because that overlaps with baseball season?

Blake Shapen: “Yes.”

DevilsDigest: Let’s talk about the ASU baseball perspective. What’s were some of the things that impressed you there?

Blake Shapen: “Probably just the facilities. The field and the stands were really nice. I guess I didn’t expect it to be as nice because being from Louisiana, it’s different, and I didn’t know what to expect. I really enjoyed checking everything out. They have an indoor hitting facility; they got the coaches’ offices…I was impressed about all of it.”

DevilsDigest: What position will you play there?

Blake Shapen: “I play shortstop, but I might pitch a little bit too, so, I might do a little bit of both.”

DevilsDigest: Moving to football, when you talk to offensive coordinator Rob Likens, what does he like regarding your skills at quarterback?

Blake Shapen: “I can throw it but if I need to run it I will too, so I’m more of a guy that can do both and that fits that type of offense. The good thing about coach Likens was that he was telling me was that he’s going to adapt to his quarterback and what he does well. So, he’ll run his offense around his quarterback and that’s one big thing that really stood out to me and that I really liked.”

DevilsDigest: How would you describe your skills at quarterback?

Blake Shapen: “I can throw the ball a long way, and I think one thing that gets downplayed in my game is that I can run the ball. I don’t run it a lot, but if I have to get out of the pocket I will because I have good footwork.”

DevilsDigest: Aside from the pure football and baseball factors, what else really impressed you about Arizona State?

Blake Shapen: “Probably just all-around being in Arizona and Tempe. I really enjoyed being here. It’s different from anything I saw. I used to have some family that lives in California, so I went up there sometimes. I’ve really always enjoyed coming up there, and I really enjoyed just the scenery (in Tempe) and everything, it’s new to me and I liked it.”

DevilsDigest: Did you get to talk to any of the current quarterbacks on the team?

Blake Shapen: “Yes, I got to talk to Ethan Long. He told me that the coaching staff is real and that they’re not playing a game in front of you. Everything they’re telling you right now is going to be the same thing they’re going to be telling you when you come here.”

DevilsDigest: When you talked to Herm Edwards what were some of the things he said that made an impression?

Blake Shapen: “The one thing that he told me that really stood out was that if I do decide to come to Arizona State, then he can help me get me to the next level. It’s only a matter of if I follow through and put in the time to do it. That’s a big thing that really stood out to me that and was a big pointer to my mom when he said that.”

DevilsDigest: So, in terms of your overall recruitment, are you going to visit any other schools in the next few weeks?

Blake Shapen: “Not right now, I don’t have anything planned right now, so we’ll see what happens.”

DevilsDigest: Do you have a top school right now?

Blake Shapen: “I couldn’t tell you. I like ASU and Ole Miss right now and I’m trying to figure it out. I think I’ll know soon though.”

DevilsDigest: When do you expect to make a decision?

Blake Shapen: “I’d say probably in the next week or so, I don’t know.”

DevilsDigest: When it’s time for you to choose a school what are some of the factors, you’re going to take a real close look at before you make that decision?

Blake Shapen: “I think I know everything that I need to know right now, I think I just need to get home with my family and just sit down and talk about it, and see whatever the best fit is for me right now. I think I know everything I need to know about these schools.”

Chris Gleason contributed to this article

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