Xavier Legette left the Carolina Panthers’ first training camp practice with a purpose, stepping behind the podium and letting everyone know he was fired up—well, as fired up as the soft-spoken, docile Legette can be—and not in a good way. The first-round rookie receiver was disappointed with his performance on the first day of camp and frustrated with his own performance.
“I found that the first training camp went somewhat slowly for me. He added, “I feel like it wasn’t my best, but we still have time to make it better,” prior to the first question being posed. “I get upset with myself about things like that, when I feel like I didn’t have the best day and didn’t leave everything out there on the field.”
It is important to highlight that this message was totally self-evaluation—”this is something I noticed about myself”—from a man who holds himself to a higher standard, even if the first day was essentially just getting things going. It was not coming from instructors.
His head coach is aware that the receiver will need time to acclimate after missing much of minicamp and OTAs due to a hamstring ailment (though Legette claims he is fully recovered), and that he is still a rookie learning a playbook that hasn’t even been fully presented.
Thus, Dave Canales was envisioning the future while Legette was reflecting on what he believed ought to have happened on Wednesday.
“After the first camp practice, Canales said of Legette, ‘He brings a massive receiver, explosive ability.” “He has the ability to extend the field and make plays on short passes.
“I have no set expectations for Xavier. I’m curious to see how quickly he can learn this offense and integrate himself so that he can perform it with a sort of rhythmic flow.As we just briefly discussed, all I want is for him to get well one day at a time, and I’m willing to accept whatever that means.”
“I feel like I wasn’t really (paying) attention to detail today, so I need to buy in on that for the rest of the practices,” Legette added. “I didn’t have any (catches) today and really just mainly like, kind of getting open a little better than I was, mainly like using my hands and that (is the goal).”
The former South Carolina receiver reconnected with another Gamecock success story, 49ers Swiss Army knife Deebo Samuel. The two trained, alongside Ricky Pearsall (49ers), Parris Campbell (Eagles) and Isaiah Hodgins (Giants) this summer in California. It wasn’t long before Legette was back to not only fighting weight, but receiver speed.
A video circulating social media showed Legette and Samuel racing on a treadmill. Asked on Wednesday who won, Legette smirked and answered, “you already know I won.”
