Game Balls: South Carolina vs. Jacksonville State
It's been a minute since we've been able to do this, but because the South Carolina Gamecocks were able to squeak out a victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, GamecocksDigest can give out its own game balls to a select few who went above and beyond on the field yesterday. Who were the best performers for Shane Beamer's team in week eleven?
WR Xavier Legette
I mean, c'mon? If we didn't give out a game ball to the fifth-year senior after what he did yesterday, we would need to go and find a different profession. It was clear on Saturday afternoon that the wear and tear of the season has taken a toll on Xavier, but that didn't stop him from getting consistently open down the field and Spencer Rattler subsequently connecting with him. Legette's 217 receiving yards were not just a career-high for the Palmetto State native, but it was also just 16 yards shy of tying the program's single-game mark of 233 yards, which was set by Pharoh Cooper back in 2014.
TE Joshua Simon
This individual performance might have flown under the radar for some on Saturday, but Simon deserves a lot of credit for his performance. The fourth-year junior got his first start of the season with Trey Knox being out for the game, and he made the most of his opportunity, catching seven passes for 64 total yards and running with a purpose when he met up with Jacksonville State defenders. Knox has played a crucial role in this offense as Rattler's safety, but Simon showed on Saturday that he should potentially get more chances in this offense moving forward.
LB Stone Blanton
If you make a play that essentially wins your team the football game, you're guaranteed to get a game ball, and that's what Stone Blanton did with his pick-six late in the fourth quarter of yesterday's ball game. Blanton would probably tell you himself that he could've played better, but no one can question how hard he works off the field and how that carries over to gameday. Players with that kind of dedication will eventually make a game-altering play, and there's an argument to be made that Blanton's interception might've just saved the season for the Gamecocks. Time will tell if that winds up ringing true as November progresses.
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