Shane Beamer shares what Xavier Legette means to South Carolina
There haven’t been a ton of bright spots for South Carolina this season, but one definite one is the presence of receiver Xavier Legette.
On top of being one of the nation’s best receivers, he’s also doubled as a part-time DJ for the Gamecocks, a role even head coach Shane Beamer finds fitting. Legette always has a song to lift the mood.
“He’s usually in charge of the music that we play next door,” Beamer said. “So you never know what you’re going to hear at 7:55 on a Tuesday morning that he’s got playing. Usually I can tell Xavier’s mood based on how into the song he is, and he’s got a pretty good gift of it, because a lot of times I’ll walk in and the whole room will be like singing along to whatever song he’s picked and things like that. So he’s a great teammate. I joke but it’s true, he’s very engaged.”
Legette is coming off his best game of the season, a monster showing against Jacksonville State. During the contest he hauled in nine passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns — all season highs.
On the year he’s got 50 catches for 973 yards and five touchdowns.
He’s been consistent even when opposing defenses have targeted him in their defensive plans. But Legette is hard to get a handle on.
“We’re asking a lot of him,” Beamer said. “Obviously if you watch us closely, which I know you guys do, he’s not lining up in the same place every time because we’re not just going to say he’s always the X receiver or he’s always the Z receiver, or he’s always going to be on the left or right or to the field or to the boundary, because obviously if teams know that they’re going to be able to roll coverage to him and things like that. So he does a lot.”
To be able to produce like that even when he’s the focal point of defensive gameplans says a lot. And the Gamecocks have needed it as they’ve dealt with injuries at some key skill position spots this year.
That’s something Beamer doesn’t want to be overlooked this season, even if it’s been a relatively disappointing one.
Xavier Legette deserves all the love headed his way from both the analysts and the fans.
“Really all three of our wide receiver positions, if you think about the outside guys, the guy in the slot,” Beamer said, “He knows it all and does it all and does it well. Sometimes you take for granted how smart he and Spencer (Rattler) are, because you can do a lot of different things with them.
“So that’s one thing that stands out to me beyond just the ability on the field, it’s just he’s a great teammate, works hard and just how intelligent he is from a football standpoint, like he just, he gets it and things just make sense to him.”