Good morning. Xavier Legette is staying close to home! The Carolina Panthers traded up to the No. 32 overall pick during the first round of the NFL draft last night to select our guy.

As Ian Rapoport noted, Legette called his shot. We’re so proud of our first-rounder!

What else is mixed into today’s Brew? ⤵️

🐎 What a career
👑 A new champ
🤙 And much, much more

🎥 GAMECOCKS+

The NFL Draft is underway! Get ready for Day 2 of the draft and enjoy last year's story of Darius Rush's remarkable journey from Kingstree, South Carolina to the NFL.

An original short film "Small Town, Big Dreams: Darius Rush’s Life Calling" tells the story of the cornerback’s journey from Kingstree, SC – a town of only 3,000 – to the University of South Carolina and beyond. Follow along during “Darius Rush Day” and join the celebration on draft night while hearing from the people of Kingstree, like his mom, brother, and Nana, who helped him achieve his goals and overcome unimaginable loss at a young age.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 What A Career. A legendary Gamecock career is coming to a close as Equestrian coach Boo Major announced her retirement yesterday. Major spent 26 seasons guiding South Carolina Equestrian, and over that time, she coached 300+ letter winners, 30 riders who were named National Collegiate Equestrian Association All-Americans 53 times, 30 SEC All-Team honorees, five SEC Riders of the Year, and the 2020 NCEA Rider of the Year.

South Carolina won three NCEA Overall Championships in 2005, 2007, and 2015, three straight NCEA Hunter Seat National Championships from 2005-2007, the 2012 Southern Equestrian Championship, and the SEC Championship in 2013 and 2014. Major earned SEC Coach of the Year and NCEA National Coach of the Year twice.

Last season, Major sat down with Gamecocks+ for an exclusive peek at her then-25 years at the helm of Gamecock Equestrian. We look back on the program's beginning, her accomplishments, and some of her fondest memories in the saddle.

🔼 Award Season. Toby Samuel and James Story are All-SEC honorees! Samuel earned All-SEC First Team, while Story landed on the second team. Samuel is 19-5 in singles this season and is the first player in Gamecock men’s tennis history to post a perfect SEC season with a 10-0 record. Story has 12 singles wins on the season and is ranked No. 89 overall.

Next up for South Carolina men’s tennis is the NCAA Selection Show on Monday at 6:00pm ET.

🔼 A New Champ. Matrick Belton, a former Gamecock walk-on wide receiver, is the new WWE NXT Champion! Now known as Trick Williams, the champion talked with WWE’s The Bump this week about his time at the University of South Carolina. On his decision to transfer from Hampton to walk on in Columbia, Williams said: “My dream school was the University of South Carolina.”

🔼 Owning History. You can own a real piece of South Carolina women’s basketball championship history. South Carolina Athletics and Artsman have teamed up to create a collection of items made from the court on which the Gamecocks won the NCAA title. Check it out here.

🔼 Add To It. It’s an indisputable fact of life: You can never have too many koozies. Be one of the first 1000 fans at Founders Park tonight and you’ll get to add this Script Carolina jersey koozie to your collection!

🔼 Making History. Sometime this weekend, Spencer Rattler is primed to become the first quarterback drafted from the University of South Carolina since Todd Ellis was selected in 1990. The buzz about Rattler continues to grow as Robert Griffin III, ESPN’s Peter Burns, and former New York Jets scout Daniel Kelly weigh in.

🤔 GAMECOCK TRIVIA

Gone Pro. Four different Gamecock quarterbacks have been selected during the NFL Draft. Can you name them all?

Know it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the right answer!

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📬 A LOOK AHEAD

Friday 4/26

🏃 Track & Field @ Charlotte Invitational

⛳ Men’s Golf @ SEC Championships (St. Simons Island, GA)

🏖️ Beach Volleyball @ CCSA Championship (Huntsville, AL)

🥎 Softball @ Kentucky @ 6:30pm ET on SEC Network+

⚾ Baseball vs. Kentucky @ 7:00pm ET on SEC Network+

Saturday 4/27

🏃 Track & Field @ Charlotte Invitational

⛳ Men’s Golf @ SEC Championships (St. Simons Island, GA)

🏖️ Beach Volleyball @ CCSA Championship (Huntsville, AL)

🥎 Softball @ Kentucky @ 2:00pm ET on SEC Network+

⚾ Baseball vs. Kentucky @ 6:00pm ET on SEC Network

Sunday 4/28

⛳ Men’s Golf @ SEC Championships (St. Simons Island, GA)

🥎 Softball @ Kentucky @ 1:00pm ET on SEC Network+

⚾ Baseball vs. Kentucky @ 3:00pm ET on SEC Network

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: While plenty of Gamecock signal-callers have made it to the pros, Ed Pasky (1951), Johnny Gramling (1954), Jeff Grantz (1976), and Todd Ellis (1990) are the four South Carolina QBs who were drafted.

🤙 Have a good Friday, y’all.