Xavier Legette on trail rides, Panthers' teammate bonding, and not having a repeat of 2025

Jun 12, 2026 at 10:23 AM

Kassidy Hill

The Carolina Panthers face the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 at Bank Of America Stadium, in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE — For two years, Bryce Young has heard stories about Mullins, South Carolina. The hometown of Xavier Legette, Mullins, is located in eastern South Carolina, a former tobacco hub now home to just under 5,000 residents.

It is as country as a town can be, and the opposite of Young's childhood in Southern California. So when the quarterback heard Legette was hosting a trail ride the weekend before mandatory minicamp, he had to drive south and experience it firsthand.

"He talked about it, so, just wanted to try it out, and that was a new experience for me for sure," laughed the LA product."It was really fun. I actually had a really good time. Everyone up there was super cool."

It didn't take long for videos of the well-attended trail ride (a colloquial term for a community event on horses, ATVs, and trailers, ending in a cookout) to emerge, showing Legette on his Tennessee Walking Horse, and Young on a souped-up four-wheeler.

"That was my first time driving. That was X's too, so, appreciate him letting me use it, but it was a lot of fun," shared Young. "I did not get on a horse. I still have some ways to go before that."

There were other receivers there with Legette and Young, but teammate Tetairoa McMillan was unable to join. As soon as he saw the videos, he regretted not being there.

"I'm sad that I missed it, but I'm happy for them that they were able to experience that," bemoaned McMillan.

Unlike McMillan, head coach Dave Canales purposely did not watch the videos of his starting quarterback and a portion of his receiving corps on recreational ATVs.

"I was like, alright, I know nothing, I see nothing," he joked this week.

"But they had a great time, which speaks to the larger group, offensively, defensively, guys are taking advantage to connect on and off the field."

That connection can build a bond, one that allows people from all walks of life who share the same locker room to understand one another better. It's the kind of connection that allows a QB from Pasadena to figure out what makes his first-round receiver tick.

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The Carolina Panthers hold camp Monday, Aug. 11, 2025 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

"It was good for them boys to feel that firsthand. My people showed them nothing but love," bragged Legette of Mullins.

"The boys were just telling me how super nice my people were to them, and I never had to look over my shoulder about anything, by bringing those boys down there to my city. I know my people are going to treat them right."

Added Young, "I think it's always cool just to see where people come from. Was able to be around his family, people that grew up with him…it was cool seeing how revered he is.

"People coming up to me like, it's been so different, the city's been different, X has come back and done all these things for the city. We all have hope because of the stuff he's done; he's kind of helped bring the city into a bigger spotlight.

"Seeing him orchestrate a day like that for the community, it's really cool. It doesn't surprise me at all. A really good dude. He's always talking about his hometown, always talking about his community, so it wasn't surprising at all just to see all the love that was out there."

Some of that understanding just comes with time; time on task, time hanging out in the locker room, time together out of the building. But so does to maturation and development. And Xavier Legette is using this offseason to marry all of those factors together, hoping to turn it into his redeeming season in the NFL.

"My main thing is just to have a better year than my first two years. I can't have another year like I did last year. I can't do that," Legette admitted.

So despite becoming a fan-favorite personality for both Panthers' fans and outside sports fans in his first two years, the receiver has pulled himself out of the spotlight, cutting down on PR trips and events, primarily splitting his time between Charlotte and Mullins.

He's become extremely acquainted with the jugs machine, and has taken every spare second he could with Young on the field.

Xavier Legette is seen during Carolina Panthers OTA Day Number 3 on Friday, May 29, 2026 at Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

"Just doing the little things," continued Legette. "The little things that I got to clean up, as far as the mishaps that were happening last year. I can't let that happen again.

"I'm really comfortable with the system. I've been in it going on my third year, and, I feel like this year, it's going great for me so far. My main thing right now is just staying consistent in the things that I've been doing and keep honing on the things that I've been doing so I can have a great year."

In Legette's rookie season, he finished with 49 receptions for 497 yards and four touchdowns (27 first downs). His second season, those numbers dropped slightly to 35 receptions for 363 yards and three touchdowns (18 first downs). He was able to clean up drops after having eight in 2024, finishing with just one in 2025. But miscommunications and hamstring injuries kept him hampered.

So, he challenged himself this offseason, telling his mind this is his chance to prove what he's here to do.

"I always put pressure on myself, because I feel like I can always hold that pressure," said Legette. "I kind of just put myself in a mindset of it's do or die. And that kind of helped me do the things that I needed to do and keep that pressure on myself to never take my foot off the gas.

"I've been playing the game for a long time. I had ups and downs all through my career, and it's like every time, when the pressure gets real, when it gets high, that's when I show the most."

He also went to director of performance, Josh Hingst, and asked for a plan to reduce the hamstring issues.

"I'm trying to bulletproof my hamstrings, because they played a big part in everything that I've been doing, my first two years limiting me," the receiver explained. "So I'm just trying to bulletproof my hamstring, like keep my hamstrings intact and keep my body up under me this whole time from OTAs all the way through this little mini camp.

"Coach Josh, our strength coach, had a plan for me. I told him exactly what I wanted to do. And man, he did that for me, and I've been feeling good."

And he cut down on his weight, dropping from 228-230 (where he was playing last season) to his current weight of around 221 pounds.

More than anything, though, he's trusted his grasp and knowledge of the system. It's been paying off this spring as he's helped guide and mentor some of the younger receivers, such as Chris Brazzell II, letting them know what coaches expect and how to shape their own training to eliminate the dips Legette felt too familiar with last season.

"If I see something that the boys ain't doing right, I tell them, and I just try to tell them like, because I kind of just go off what I feel like the coaches like to see," said Legette.

"I'm going back to, I could tell myself, I slept on doing these things my first two years, so I kind of just tell them that as well."

Xavier Legette is seen during Carolina Panthers Voluntary Workouts Phase 1 on Thursday, Apr. 30, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

Those around him, from Canales, Young, and teammates, have seen the effect.

"I think it's a make-or-break year for all of us every year, and Xavier has worked that way, and from the minute he's gotten here, he's 100 miles an hour," shared Canales. "He's putting in the time in the playbook, he's busting his butt on the field, working on little technical skills. We had great meetings coming out of the season, great meetings when he came back in April, talked about his plan and the things he's been working on, and all that.

"He's aware of all the things he needs to continue to improve upon to be the player that we know he can be and that he knows he can be."

Added Young, "He's always had the same drive, same commitment. He's a guy that wants to get things right. After every play, he's coming back, trying to figure out, making sure he's on the same page.

"He's a guy who'll stay as long as it takes after practice to go get extra reps. I think you just see that extra command. He'sone of the vets in the receiver room; he's getting guys lined up. You see the young guys, the rookies, coming in asking him, 'Hey, where am I on this?' And him having ownership. I call the route, and it's automatic. 'I know exactly my split. I know the detail coming back.'"

Canales has challenged his team to take ownership of the offense this offseason. That means not only grasping the playbook but also polishing those minute details, such as a split or a minor detail. It also means understanding how each other thinks, what motivates a person, and why they step on the field.

Tetairoa McMillan and Xavier Legette of the Carolina Panthers participate in voluntary workouts on Tuesday, Apr 28, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

This receiving corps, along with Young, will strengthen that relationship again this summer with a receiver retreat in Arizona. But their afternoon in Mullins, South Carolina, won't be far from mind either. That, according to Canales, is what shows up during the fall.

"That's how you create a great team," preached the coach. "That's how you go the extra mile, are able to stay with it a little bit longer when the games get hard and tough, you lean on those relationships, and X has been right in the middle of all that."

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Chris Brazzell II is seen during Carolina Panthers Mandatory Mini Camp on Wednesday, Jun. 10, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.