College football player prop: As good as Legette

After sampling a handful of games from the pigskin appetizer that is Week 0, fans of college football can gorge themselves on Saturday’s first full slate. The marquee matchup this evening is a border rivalry between the two flagship universities of the Carolinas. In what figures to be a quarterback duel between North Carolina’s Drake Maye and South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, an emerging pass catcher gets our backing for top prop:

The bet: Over 29½ receiving yards for South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette (Bally’s)

Having taken advantage of the fifth year of eligibility that the NCAA granted due to the pandemic, Legette is among the “super seniors” who stand to benefit the most. He caught just 42 passes for 423 yards over his first four seasons with the Gamecocks, and his biggest contributions during most of last year came as a kick returner.

But thrust into a larger role for the Gator Bowl, Legette promptly carved up a good Notre Dame secondary. He opened the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown catch and found the end zone again on a 42-yarder in the third quarter. Although the Irish eventually prevailed, Legette ended up setting career highs with seven receptions for 78 yards.

Going against a Tar Heels defense that was 12th-worst in passing yards allowed last year, South Carolina is expecting to see more of the same. His position coach, Justin Stepp, called Legette “by far the best guy in our room this summer”— and that should translate to a productive season opener.