Oregon State wide receiver Jesse Legree is one of the best stories in college football. The under-recruited pass-catcher announced his decision to play for the Beavers in 2027 during a mid-season signing ceremony on Friday.
It was both a good thing and a bad thing.
Even if this announcement is a huge win for a college football team that was left for dead when the Pac-12 imploded, it reflects how much the sport has changed— for the worse. There are no guardrails and anything goes at all times!
Jesse Legree re-signed with Oregon State.
At 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, Jessee Legree was rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2026. The Baltimore, Maryland-native received only five scholarship offers from FBS programs: Pittsburgh, Temple, Buffalo, Ohio and Oregon State.
JaMarcus Shephard was hired as the new head coach at Oregon State at the end of November. He took over the program after a two-year stint as the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach under Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, and a two year stint as the associate head coach, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach under DeBoer at Washington.
Shephard first saw Legree’s tape while he was in Tuscaloosa but the Crimson Tide did not have enough room on the roster to recruit him. Therefore, Legree was his first call upon arrival in Corvallis. One thing led to another. It has worked out well thus far.
The Beavers are one of the top offensive teams in the country at 5-2. Their leading receiver, Legree, is also the nation’s leading receiver ahead of players like Jeremiah Smith and Malachi Toney. He has 1,040 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns on 46 catches in seven games as a true freshman. His worst game of the season was 100 yards and a touchdown on four catches!
Legree is a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. I would expect to see him in New York in December if he continues this pace.
However, as is true with any star player in the modern era of college football, Legree’s success has been clouded by transfer rumors over the last few days and weeks. The general assumption was that he would finish out this season with Oregon State, enter the transfer portal and sign a lucrative NIL deal with a “bigger” program like Texas or Georgia or Miami, etc.
That will not be the case!
Legree, who did not get a signing day ceremony in high school, returned to his home town during the bye week to announce his return to the Beavers in 2027. It was a special moment for a player who worked extremely hard to get the recognition he deserves.
Yes, it is a great thing that a school like Oregon State was/is able to retain the top wide receiver in the country. Yes, it is a huge bummer that college football has reached a point where athletes are holding a signing ceremony in the middle of the season.
What does his NIL contract look like?
There is another interesting wrinkle to Jesse Legree’s announcement and I hate to be the one to bring it up. Although this mid-season signing ceremony silences the outside chatter (for now) and allows the Beavers to focus on the task at hand, the terms of his agreement with Oregon State will be extremely important.
First and foremost, it sounds like Chad Ochocinco was a key contributor to Legree’s NIL deal. That’s awesome. I don’t know what the numbers look like. I doubt they are ever made public but I would guess we’re talking $2/$2.5 million.
However, regardless of how many zeros might be on Legree’s new contract, there is always a bigger offer waiting. The tampering is going to continue through the end of the season. Other schools are still going to present him with more money.
What happens if Legree gets an offer he cannot refuse? Can he back out of his deal with the Beavers? Would he owe a buyout? Would it get litigious like it did with Princewill Umanmielen, Devin Harper and Ole Miss?
Head coach JaMarcus Shephard is another factor in this equation. Even if it seems like the first-year head coach is committed to building a competitive college football program at Oregon State, his success in year one is likely going to get him offers to coach elsewhere during the offseason. What if Texas fires Steve Sarkisian? Would Shephard take the Florida State job when Mike Norvell gets inevitably canned?
If Shephard decides to take another job, I would assume that Legree would want to go with him but he just signed what I assume is a binding contract for 2027. Then what?
I understand that I am being the Debbie Downer in this situation but I have watched this sport for too long to trust a mid-season signing day. There are still five games remaining in the regular season. Oregon State could sneak its way into the Playoff. Legree could still decide to enter the transfer portal depending on the language of his contractual agreement. (I hope not!)