When Butch Jones was the head coach at Tennessee, the recruiting strategy seemed clear. He wanted to sign as many prospects as possible, with the highest star rating possible. Jeremy Pruitt, on the other hand, seems to care much less about a prospect’s rating, as it is clear he trusts his staff and himself to evaluate talent. He demonstrated this in the 2018 class, discovering receiver Jordan Young, and then signing Cedric Tillman at receiver and Kurott Garland on the defensive line.
Pruitt has shown that yet again in the 2019 class, offering an unranked prospect from Mullins, South Carolina. Xavier Legette tweeted Wednesday that it is “great to say” that he has received an offer from the Vols.
Great to say I have received a offer from University of Tennessee #VOLS #RockyTop? pic.twitter.com/4yOe5gTiiv
— Xavier Legette (@XavierLegette) November 7, 2018
The only other Power Five school to offer Legette is South Carolina, and he also has an offer from Coastal Carolina, a team new to the FBS. He is listed by 247Sports as an athlete, and Rivals has him at wide receiver. Legette visited South Carolina when they took on the Vols, and he really enjoyed the game from both sides.
In an interview with us, he confirmed that he’ll be taking an official visit to Knoxville this weekend to see the Vols play No. 11 Kentucky.
He is a real do-it-all kind of player. He plays for a small school that historically hasn’t had a lot of talent, so with a player of his caliber, they move him all over the field. In his career, he has returned punts and kicks and played safety, corner, quarterback. and wide receiver. Most recently, in his senior year, he has been playing quarterback.
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Legette is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, and is consistently the best athlete on the field. The only reason he isn’t ranked is because of a lack of exposure. Mullins High School doesn’t receive much attention, and he hasn’t made it to many camps. Make no mistake though: He is very talented.
In 2016, when he took most of his snaps at receiver, he snagged 44 catches for 733 yards and eight touchdowns.
His South Carolina offer is likely to be a blueshirt, and it is unclear what the situation would be at Tennessee.
Legette is lanky and athletic, and he’s speedy and explosive. He clocked a 4.45 40 yard dash at a camp at Charleston Southern. He has very good hands and great ball skills. 50/50 balls are anything but a toss-up with him on the receiving end, as he can high point a football really well and out-jump most corners. He is elusive in space and is really good with the ball in his hands. He has skills that could translate to both offense and defense, and he could play defensive back at the next level. Legette is a sure tackler and does a good job in coverage.
So far this season with Mullins, Legette has over 1,700 yards of offense and 23 total touchdowns. He and his team just lost their first game of the season last Friday, and they’re 7-1 on the year right now.
It is clear that South Carolina was hoping that nobody else would find their sleeper in their class, but after he visited for their game against the Vols, he was on Tennessee’s radar. They clearly like him, and for good reason.
If Tennessee can offer him the chance to be on scholarship right away rather than blueshirt, they should have a pretty good shot at landing him in this class. But his recruitment will be one to follow.
