What Jesse Legree did in his first college game was loud enough to turn heads across the sport.
Oregon State’s freshman receiver opened the season against Houston with five catches, 136 yards and a touchdown, a performance that earned him Pac-12 freshman of the week honors. No freshman in Week 1 put up more receiving yards.
For Oregon State, though, the breakout wasn’t exactly a surprise. Coach JaMarcus Shephard said the staff had already seen Legree carry himself like a veteran through spring ball and camp.
“He’s just got a mentality about himself,” Shephard said. “We knew that throughout all of spring ball, camp, he played like a veteran.
He didn’t care what (he) was up against. He didn’t care what opponent was up against him, which defender was against him.
I knew that would help him tremendously going into the game.”
The numbers behind the debut only make it more striking. Legree’s showing is believed to be the first 100-yard game by an OSU receiver in his first college game, and it stands as the most receiving yards by an Oregon State freshman since Jordan Villamin went for 140 against Cal in 2014.
Offensive coordinator Mitch Dahlen said the moment never looked too big for the 5-foot-10, 172-pound receiver.
“He doesn’t act like he’s a freshman,” Dahlen said. “He acts like he’s been here for a long, long time. You kind of knew in that moment it wasn’t going to be too big for him and he made some plays in the pass game and he didn’t flinch.”
Legree was a late addition to Oregon State’s recruiting class after Shephard arrived, and he emerged as a standout during spring practice. He came in ranked No. 1,702 overall in last year’s class, even though he played at Maryland powerhouse St. Frances Academy.
Shephard made it clear just how valuable the freshman already is to the Beavers’ plans, both now and down the line.
“Shout out DMV coaches; appreciate you guys all doing a great job helping us get that young man over here, keeping him over here,” Shephard said. “Don’t let anyone else call you asking about him. No, he’s not available.”
That kind of praise carries weight coming from Shephard, who has worked with true freshman receivers before, including the late Rondale Moore and David Bell at Purdue and Ryan Williams at Alabama. Legree now looks like the next name in that line, and a potential centerpiece for an Oregon State offense trying to find a true go-to receiver.
The challenge ahead is obvious: now opponents have film, and they’ll start hunting for ways to slow him down.
“His issue now is going to be people are going to try to find ways to stop you kid, so you can’t get frustrated,” Shephard said. “You got to play within the game.”
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