South Carolina Football: Despite the disappointing loss, one Gamecock made history on Saturday

Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football squad had a disappointing night on Saturday when they lost 31-17 to the North Carolina Tar Heels in Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. A lot went wrong in the season opener, but enough has been written about that.

No, this article is about a major positive that came out of the events in Charlotte. That positive was Xavier Legette. Legette and quarterback Spencer Rattler were the top-two performers for new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, and Legette made some Gamecock history with his effort.

The Mullins, South Carolina native had a remarkable game on Saturday night, racking up more receiving yards in one contest than he had in any season in his career.

Legette pulled down nine Spencer Rattler passes (including two impressive jump balls in traffic) and tallied 178 yards on the night. Those 178 yards were the most in all of college football over the weekend and set a record for the most receiving yards ever in a South Carolina football season opener.

To put that performance into proper perspective, all-time great South Carolina receivers like Sterling Sharpe, Alshon Jeffery, Sidney Rice, Pharoh Cooper, and Deebo Samuel never caught 178 yards worth of passes in a game 1 situation.

With #1 wideout Juice Wells listed as questionable for next Saturday’s game against the Furman Paladins with a re-aggravated foot injury, Legette could be in for another big game in front of a Williams-Brice crowd that is excited for its first opportunity to watch the Gamecocks in Columbia in 2023.

Once Wells is back to 100%, if #17 can keep up his strong play, the 1-2 combination of Wells and Legette could be in line to become one of the best receiver pairings in Gamecock history, joining other dynamic pass-catching duos like Sidney Rice and Kenny McKinley, Deebo Samuel and Brian Edwards, and Alshon Jeffery and Bruce Ellington.