Oregon State star freshman receiver Jesse Legree announced Friday that he has re-signed with the Beavers for the 2027 season.
Legree made the announcement at his former high school, Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, partly because he was lightly recruited and didn’t have a signing day a year ago.
“We’ve built a great culture and it’s only going to get bigger from here,” Legree told ESPN. “This is going to be the start of a national powerhouse.”
The 5-foot-10, 172-pound Legree was only a three-star recruit but has exploded onto the scene in Corvallis. He leads the nation with 1,040 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions. He is two touchdown catches away from matching the school record held by longtime NFL receiver Brandin Cooks (16 in 2013).
Legree has topped 100 yards receiving in all seven games for Oregon State (5-2, 3-0 Pac-12). His top outing was 240 yards – second-most in school history — against then-No. 13 Texas Tech on Sept. 12.
He has caught three touchdown passes twice and grabbed two on three other occasions. He has at least one touchdown catch in each game.
His season high for receptions is 10 against San Diego State. He had 191 yards and three scores in the Beavers’ 66-14 trouncing of the Aztecs. Legree is averaging 22.6 yards on 46 receptions.
Legree has recently been mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. He said he belongs at the top of the conversation.
“Never seen a freshman do what I’m doing week in and week out, and I feel like I’m going to continue to do that,” Legree said. “And I feel like everybody who doesn’t feel like I should be in that conversation will notice by the end of the season that I deserve that, or should at least be in the top-three conversation.”
Oregon State is averaging 51 points per game during a five-game winning streak in JaMarcus Shepherd’s first season as head coach.
Legree also held the event during Oregon State’s bye week to help attract media attention to the program in hopes of landing athletes for the program.
Oregon State also has a quarterback on the rise in Mercer transfer Branden Atkinson, who won the Jerry Rice Award last season as the top freshman in the FCS. Atkinson leads the nation in passing yardage (2,604 yards) and touchdown passes (24) and has thrown just two interceptions for Oregon State.
The Beavers return to action on Oct. 31 at Fresno State (4-3, 1-2).