With 17 days until South Carolina football kicks off 2025 season, a look back at No. 17, Xavier Legette

South Carolina football will take the field for the first time in the 2025 season on August 31st when the Gamecocks take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That means kickoff is just 17 days away.

A handful of players represented the Gamecocks well while wearing the No. 17 jersey. Dylan Thompson set the single-season record for passing yards in 2014. Later, linebacker Demetrius Knight’s 2024 campaign left a mark on the program. But wide receiver Xavier Legette is the choice for the jersey number.

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One of the most remarkable things about Legette’s career is that it was almost not a memorable one at all. The Mullins, South Carolina native had just over 400 yards through four seasons in garnet and black from 2019-2022. However, a strong performance in the 2022 Gator Bowl (seven catches, 78 yards, and two touchdowns; all career highs) served as a launchpad for Legette. Thanks to the “Covid redshirt” giving him an extra year of eligibility, XL had a season for the ages in 2023.

As a redshirt senior, Legette registered one of the best receiving seasons in South Carolina football history. He caught 71 balls (tied for fifth-best ever), seven touchdowns, and 1255 yards (second-best ever). Legette trails just Alshon Jeffery in yards and Jeffery, Kenny McKinley, Sterling Sharpe, and Sidney in receptions.

Legette’s 217 yards in a tighter-than-expected contest against the “other Gamecocks” from Jacksonville State is the second-most in a single-game at USC and is one of five 200-yard games for any receiver. with six 100-yard games, only Jeffery’s 2010 campaign (eight) ranks ahead of Legette’s 2023.

Legette is the only player to tally 175 yards in a single-game on three occasions, and he did so all in the same year. He also is the only one with multiple 75-yard touchdowns in a game, lighting up the Mississippi State Bulldogs defense for 75-yard and 76-yard scores. Legette also had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown the season before in 2022.

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Following his breakout redshirt senior year, the Carolina Panthers picked Legette in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Legette is entering his second year in Charlotte. He managed 49 receptions, four touchdown catches, and 497 yards as a rookie.

Legette won the 2023 Blanchard-Rogers Trophy as the top collegiate player with a connection to the Palmetto State. The “South Carolina Heisman” winner was also an All-American and semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Legette was an All-SEC contributor, USC’s 10th in team history.

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