Jesse Legree Re-Signs With Oregon State for 2027

Jesse Legree finally got his signing day, more than 10 months late and with a lot more people watching. The Oregon State freshman signed a new deal live on CBS Sports HQ from his old high school gym in Baltimore last Friday to stay with the Beavers for the 2027-28 season. He did it as the nation’s leader with 1,040 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches through seven games.

Legree watched his St. Frances Academy teammates sign with schools like Alabama and Auburn last December, and Oregon State did not call until late that day.

“It’s always some kid’s dream to live out on signing day,” Legree said during the October 23 announcement. “And unfortunately, I wasn’t able to have mine last year, and to be able to have one this year for this contract is great.”

His jump from a late offer to the top of the true freshman All-America team is a story most fans know by now, so the newer story is how a program outside the power conferences held on to him.

Jesse Legree Remembers Who Called First

Eron Hodges, Oregon State’s general manager, first noticed Legree while he and JaMarcus Shephard, the first-year Beavers coach, were at Alabama in 2025 recruiting his St. Frances teammate Jireh Edwards.

“The day I got the job, Eron called me and said, ‘Hey, watch this kid right now,” Shepherd told CBS Sports. Oregon State made its offer late in the early signing period, after Legree had watched his teammates enjoy the ceremony he thought he would miss.

Legree figured he might end up at an HBCU before the Beavers reached out. He had received interest as a defensive back, but he said he had no offers to play receiver on signing day. Oregon State gave him that opening, and he took it.

As it turns out, that phone call bought Oregon State more than a receiver. Legree pointed straight at his coach when he explained his decision to stay more than 2,000 miles from his family in Baltimore.

“He’s like another father to me,” Legree said during the signing event. Shephard, he explained, looks after him beyond football.

Oregon State Shops in the Same Market

Loyalty alone was never going to keep a star receiver in this era of college football, and Shephard knows it. The Beavers also had to get the agreement done, and the coach said Legree and his representatives could have made the process much harder. Instead, he wanted the deal settled while Oregon State was still building momentum.

Chad Ochocinco, the former Oregon State receiver, publicly offered to put up $2 million in NIL money if Shephard could match it. The offer showed just how expensive keeping a breakout star might become, though there is no confirmation that the proposed money formed part of Legree’s new agreement.

Shephard also understands that keeping Jesse Legree does not settle everyone else’s future. He told reporters Monday that Legree’s decision could influence other players and donors, but he could not guarantee what any teammate would decide. There is still a roster to build, and a lot of people with money are watching.

Mind you, Oregon State plays the same game. Braden Atkinson won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS at Mercer last season, transferred to Corvallis, and now leads the FBS with 2,604 passing yards. Keeping Legree shows the Beavers can also win the side of this market that usually hurts smaller programs.

What Keeping Legree Means for the Beavers

Oregon State went 2-10 last season after firing Trent Bray during a 0-7 start. Under Shephard, the Beavers are 5-2 and lead the Pac-12, with five straight wins by at least 18 points and an offense scoring 42.7 points per game, fourth in the country.

Jesse Legree is the biggest reason for the turnaround. He has at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown in each of his first seven games. According to the Pac-12, that is the second-longest such streak in an FBS season over the past 20 years, behind Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon in 2010. Legree has also reached the Heisman conversation, appearing in the latest power rankings.

Believe it or not, next season might be where this contract pays off most, since the College Football Playoff is discussing a possible expansion to 24 teams in 2027. No change has been approved. Oregon State has 10 points in the latest AP poll, behind only Boise State and New Mexico among Group of Six teams, and a bigger bracket could give the Beavers another path into the postseason.

Legree wants his return to bring more recruits and transfers to Corvallis. “This is going to become the start of a national powerhouse,” he told ESPN ahead of his October 23 announcement.