Xavier Legette is making history for USC, even if he can’t get a game ball
Shane Beamer forgot to give Xavier Legette a game ball not once, but twice in two weeks.
The South Carolina head football coach hands out a few game balls each week in the locker room to the Gamecocks who stood out against their opponent. It wasn’t an intentional choice to omit Legette. He simply didn’t realize the fifth year reached a milestone.
Beamer admitted his mistake during his postgame press conference after dominating Vanderbilt, 47-6, Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“I screwed that up,” Beamer lamented. “He had 200 yards last week, didn’t get a game ball. Went over 1,000 yards (Saturday) on nine catches. But I’m so proud of him.”
Legette reached a feat only four other Gamecocks can claim — 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. He’s the first USC player to hit that mark since 2014, when Pharoh Cooper finished the season with 1,136 yards.
He only needed 27 yards Saturday to hit the milestone. After a 16-yard catch on South Carolina’s first drive of the game, Legette joined the 1,000-year club with a 39-yard catch on the next USC drive.
Just under nine minutes into the game, Legette achieved program history.
“He deserves everything he’s getting for what he’s doing,” Beamer said, “and we need him to play that well down the stretch for us.”
Legette has five touchdowns and came close to adding a sixth score Saturday. He’s averaged 18.5 yards per catch, and most of his receptions have come between the 20-yard lines.
Prior to this season, Legette hadn’t reached 200 passing yards in a season at South Carolina. After the Vanderbilt win, he has 1,093. There are at least two games left this year.
“It feels good,” Legette said. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I stepped foot on campus.”
Since Week 1, it’s been the “Xavier Legette Show.” He’s stepped up throughout Juice Wells’ lengthy recovery from a lower body injury. Legette was supposed to complement Wells this season, not replace his production entirely.
Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said the coaching staff has had to lower Legette’s practice reps to make sure the top receiver was well-rested. Legette suffered from a lower body injury midseason, which held him to 39 combined yards against Missouri and Texas A&M. But as soon as Legette felt himself again, he exploded.
He’s had 337 receiving yards over the last two weeks — 217 against Jacksonville State and 120 against Vanderbilt. The 217-yard effort was second-most for a Gamecock ever in a single game.
Legette tried to smile through and blow off a question about the limited practice reps, but tight end Joshua Simon made sure to set the record straight.
“Y’all should’ve seen him out there. He was mad,” Simon said.
Legette followed up: “I just love working. My preparation is from Tuesday through Thursday.”
Regardless, Legette didn’t win a game ball Saturday. He didn’t take it personally. Legette was more excited to be part of the 1,000-yard receiving club. The milestone was a goal for him as a Gamecock.
Next: He can worry about finding a way to show Beamer the right time for a game ball.
“Man, I don’t know,” Legette said laughing. “But I just know we’re feeling good right now.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2023 at 7:15 AM.
