Xavier Legette 'had the best offseason of anybody in that room'
For the first time since Justin Stepp took over the Gamecocks’ receiver room three years ago, the Gamecocks enter the year with a true lead receiver on paper.
Juice Wells comes back for his second season in the program after a prolific 2022 year. But that won’t mean much if Wells and the guys around him don’t continue to progress.
And at least one of those guys–Xavier Legette–seems to be making that jump entering his final year of eligibility.
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“It’s been cool to see the old guys bring the young guys in and get ‘em going. The leadership in that room with Xavier, AB, Juice has been a lot of fun to watch,” Justin Stepp told GamecockCentral. “I’m excited to see what Legette does. He’s had the best offseason of anybody in that room, I think. He works really hard.”
Legette has shown flashes over the last four years. But South Carolina never had to lean on him as a game-in and game-out starter like he will be this year.
Legette’s played in 41 games while starting 20 starts of those, with 42 receptions for 423 yards. He’s caught five touchdowns with a few standout moments to boot.
There was the game-winning touchdown grab against Vanderbilt in Shane Beamer’s first year. Then the kickoff return for a touchdown to spark a win over Texas A&M.
And a seven-catch, 78-yard and two-touchdown game in a bowl against Notre Dame, capped by one of the better touchdown grabs in recent program history.
Legette parlayed that, it seems, it’s a standout offseason. South Carolina lists Legette at 227 pounds, seven pounds heavier than his listed weight in 2022.
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“Physically, the way he looks. He’s changed his body a little bit. You just see the confidence. He walks around different. He talks different,” Stepp said. “Not different, but you can see he has confidence. You see the way he works, man.”
With that budding confidence, Legette’s embraced a leadership role within the group. And he’s trying to pull a host of young talent along with him.
“He‘s sending text messages to the receivers and my GA. he’s saying we’re going to get extra work at 4:30, show up. It ain’t Juice. Xavier is the guy doing it,” Stepp said. “That’s been really cool to see. That kid really doesn’t say two words. He’ll text more than he’ll talk but he’s getting those guys to buy in and bringing everybody else with him.”
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The Gamecocks not only bring back Wells and Legette but also Ahmarean Brown. There are also potential impact newcomers like Eddie Lewis from Memphis and freshmen Nyck Harbor and Elijah Caldwell.
Stepp also thinks having them, along with a restocked tight end room, can really help the South Carolina passing attack.
“The best thing for (Wells) is to have somebody on the other side of him and someone in the slot and guys at tight end. I think our tight ends are outstanding,” Stepp said. “I think that’s going to help everybody. It’s going to help Juice, help Xavier. It’ll help everybody. It gives you confidence to know you have a guy over there that’s done it and made a lot of plays for us.”
