It’s not crazy to say true freshman wide receiver KC Concepcion was essentially NC State football’s entire offense in 2023.
He led the team in receiving yards with 839 and receiving touchdowns with 10, numbers nobody else on the Wolfpack approached.
Concepcion nearly had more receiving yards than the next four top targets combined and had more than half of all the team’s receiving touchdowns.
His production didn’t just come through the air: The true freshman was NC State’s second-leading rusher behind quarterback Brennan Armstrong, finishing with 320 rushing yards on just 41 carries.
Oh yeah, and he threw a touchdown pass too.
In total, Concepcion accounted for 25.58% of all of NC State’s offensive yards — all as a freshman.
Concepcion’s 839 receiving yards ranked 59th in the nation and first most among freshmen, and his 10 touchdowns were tied for 15th most in the country and matched Oklahoma’s Nic Anderson for the most among freshmen.
As he continues to mature and develop, there’s no doubt that Concepcion will see his game progress even further.
Add in the evolution of offensive coordinator Robert Anae’s systems in Year 2 and the addition of three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year quarterback Grayson McCall — who transferred from Coastal Carolina where he threw for more than 10,000 yards and 88 touchdowns in his career — and Concepcion is NSJ’s pick to be our 2024 Athlete of the Year.
Part of what made Concepcion so impressive was the workload he handled despite being the one weapon opponents knew they had to stop.
Transfer portal additions like Duke running back Jordan Waters (819 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns), Wake Forest wide receiver Wesley Grimes (339 receiving yards, four touchdowns) and UConn tight end Justin Joly (578 receiving yards, two touchdowns) will take some touches from Concepcion in 2024 but could also free him up during games as opponents have to scheme for other players.
Either way, Concepcion will certainly get his, and if the Wolfpack’s offense can evolve into a multidimensional threat, NC State’s star receiver could go on to have an even bigger year in 2024.
