Heading into the 2023 campaign, fifth-year Xavier Legette was not the South Carolina football team's top option as the wide receiver. That distinction belonged to senior wide receiver Antwane Wells Jr., who returned to the Gamecocks after making the All-SEC First Team last year.
During South Carolina's first game of the season against North Carolina, Wells suffered a foot injury, forcing the team to embrace a "next man up" mentality for the position. Legette was called to fill the role and has since emerged as a breakout star and one of the Gamecocks' top producers on offense.
Legette's teammates and coaches say his hot start to the season is representative of the work ethic he has shown in practice after a career filled with setbacks and bright spots.
“He just continues to work and get better, and you see it,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “You’ve seen it come all together this year in a lot of ways.”
After being recruited from Mullins, S.C., Legette appeared in 11 games his freshman year, including three starts. He caught nine passes for 80 yards and scored one touchdown.
Legette started in all six games he played during his sophomore year, recording 113 yards on seven receptions, but his season ended prematurely due to injury.
Legette found himself sidelined with an injury again the following year — this time, in a motorcycle accident that forced him to miss two games in the middle of the season. Despite still having multiple wounds, Legette capped off his return to the field with a game-winning touchdown on the final drive of a 21-20 victory over Vanderbilt on Oct. 16, 2021.
"It was very exciting. I ain't had a moment like that since my freshman year, so I wanted to take full advantage of it," Legette said.
Legette returned to full strength in 2022, and despite only catching 11 passes during the regular season, he found a way to contribute in a big way on special teams. Legette set the tone early against Texas A&M by returning the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The game finished as a 30-24 win for the Gamecocks.
Legette has brought similar energy to South Carolina's offense so far in 2023.
In the Gamecocks' opener, Legette caught nine passes for 178 yards, which was not only a single-game career high in yards, but also surpassed the highest yardage total he had accumulated in any season with the team.
He followed up the game with two more 100-yard performances over the next three games. Against Furman, Legette found the end zone for the first time all season and totaled 118 yards on six receptions. Two weeks later, he caught five passes for 189 yards, scoring twice.
Through the first four games of the season, Legette led not just the SEC, but the entire country with 556 receiving yards.
Graduate student tight end Trey Knox said that Legette's recent success is a testament to the hard work he puts in each day at practice.
“What he’s doing right now is nutty, but, I mean, it’s no surprise to anybody,” Knox said. “Dude works his butt off day in and day out, practices the right way, takes care of his body and (is) just always in the film room. So, there’s no surprise to anybody — he works harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
Freshman defensive back Judge Collier said he sees Legette's dedication when he has to defend him in practice.
"His work ethic is crazy," Collier said. "He just works at his craft. He perfects his craft, and going against him in practice every day makes me a better DB. So, I mean, what he does in practice, it translates to the field on Saturday. That's just X."
Legette's hard work caught the attention of a number of coaches on South Carolina's staff, including offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. Loggains said he makes an example of Legette for the younger players on the team, telling them to “watch how 17 practices.”
While Tennessee put a damper on Legette's early season surge — holding him to just five catches for 50 yards —Legette still ranks fourth in the nation for receiving yards heading into South Carolina's bye week.
“I feel like I’m playing at a high level right now,” Legette said. “I put the time in for it and I’m still at it. Every day, I still come back and just do something little, just working on little fundamentals.”