South Carolina Football: NFL names Xavier Legette among favorites to run fastest 40 time at NFL Combine

South Carolina football fans know that Xavier Legette is fast. Like, really fast.

The Mullins, South Carolina product had been considered one of the most physically impressive players on the entire Gamecock roster for years, but injuries and inconsistent hands held him back until his breakout 2023 season.

This fall, Legette was among the best receivers in college football, and one of the (many) ways he dominated opponents was by simply being faster than everyone else on the field.

Legette's speed has caught the attention NFL.com lead draft writer Eric Edholm who included the Gamecock speedster among his 20 favorites to run the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Legette was mentioned alongside fellow wideouts Xavier Worthy, Roman Wilson, Anthony Gould, Tulu Griffin, Tez Walker, and Rome Odunze. Running backs Jaylen Wright, Isaac Guerendo, Jawhar Jordan, Will Shipley, Keilan Robinson, and Trey Benson were also on Edholm's list. Defensive backs Daequan Hardy, Carlton Johnson, Tyler Owens, Quinyon Mitchell, Nate Wiggins, MJ Devonshire, and Kris Abrams-Draine rounded out the top-20.

For those unfamiliar with Legette's wheels, he had five different 40-yard touchdowns this past season, including three that went for 65 yards or more. He also had two more 40-yard reception in which he was tackled inside the 10-yard line. In other words, Xavier Legette gets behind the defense on a regular basis.

The most impressive of the long scores came on a catch-and-run against Mississippi State. Even with the ball in his hands, Legette made SEC defensive backs look downright slow as he finished ten yards ahead of the closest defender when he crossed the goal line. At the time of the play, his 22.3 miles per hour sprint was the fastest ball-carrier speed in all of football, including the NFL.

In 2022, he showed impressive strength and balance on the opening kickoff against Texas A&M, and after the Aggies ripped off one of his shoes on the return, he still galloped ahead at over 20 miles per hour to give his South Carolina Gamecocks an early lead in what would be a big win for the program.

Voices around the South Carolina football program claim to have clocked Legette at a 4.29 in the 40-yard dash in the past, and he has run official times in the 4.3s. Despite being somewhere between 220 and 230 pounds, he will be one of the fastest sprinters this week at the NFL Combine, helping his stock ahead of April's NFL Draft.