Cookouts were common at KC Concepcion’s place in college.
Concepcion, one of the top wide receiver prospects in this week’s NFL Draft, impressed his Texas A&M teammates as much in the kitchen as he did on the field. Since he was young, Concepcion has been inquisitive about food, always asking his mother, Arriel, about her recipes and seasonings. And when he was old enough, Concepcion started to experiment on his own, and he would wake his family up with breakfast in bed on the weekends.
Meals brought people together, and it was no different in college.
“I remember my first time cooking, a bunch of the guys came over. I had put some food on the grill, but they didn’t really know what to expect,” Concepcion said. “Whenever they tasted it, they told me that I knew what I was doing inside the kitchen.”
Concepcion’s favorite meal to prepare is anything soul food. Mac and cheese. Yams. Fried chicken. In College Station, where he spent one season as the Aggies’ leading receiver, Concepcion would invite different position groups over for dinner, using the time to talk strategy and bond as teammates.
“I’ve never seen a guy who would actually cook and invite his teammates over,” said Holmon Wiggins, Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator. “I’m sad that I didn’t get a chance to try out any of his food, but I would hear from the other guys, and I would gauge their interest. Especially, (starting quarterback) Marcel (Reed), even Marcel was like, ‘Coach, he can throw down.’”
Concepcion, 21, is hoping to bring his talents — in the kitchen and on the field — to an NFL team this fall. He ranks No. 21 on Dane Brugler’s top 300 prospects, the fourth-best receiver in a talented class, with a first- to second-round grade.
In 2025, Concepcion led the SEC in receiving touchdowns (nine) and punt return yards (456). He won the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football, joining the good company of past winners such as Travis Hunter (2023, 2024), DeVonta Smith (2020), Saquon Barkley (2017) and Christian McCaffrey (2015).
Concepcion declared for the NFL Draft after three seasons of college football, including two at his home-state NC State and one at Texas A&M. He found his mentor at A&M, thanks to a transfer that almost didn’t happen.
With the draft approaching, Concepcion is just days away from seeing a lifelong dream fulfilled. But the pre-draft process has tested him. At February’s NFL Scouting Combine, online critics ridiculed him for speaking with a stutter.
“It’s just part of me,” Concepcion said in a recent interview with The Athletic. It is of the many parts that make him the player, teammate and person he’s confident will fit right into an NFL locker room.
The oldest of five boys, KC was born in Rochester, N.Y., and his family moved to Charlotte, N.C., when he was 6. Arriel described KC as the goofy and playful older brother. Things were competitive, as could be expected in a household of five young boys, “not just in sports, but in pretty much everything that they did,” Arriel said.
“Growing up being the older brother, I just had to put an example on, show my younger brothers how it’s done, how to do it the right way,” Concepcion said. “Playing with them, it was great.”
A three-star recruit in the Class of 2023, Concepcion committed to NC State after the coaching staff built an early rapport with him. He set NC State freshman records in receptions (71), yards (839) and touchdowns (10) while winning ACC rookie and offensive player of the year awards. He logged another 52 catches for 460 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore and entered the transfer portal after the season.
KC Concepcion, shown with his mom, Arriel, at an NC State game and while suited up for a youth football game, transferred to Texas A&M after two seasons with the Wolfpack. (Courtesy of Arriel Concepcion)
As a transfer prospect, Concepcion originally had Texas A&M first on his list of visits, but he didn’t know much about how he would fit. Reed was entering his first season as the full-time starter at quarterback, and Concepcion wanted to go somewhere he could build his tape as an NFL hopeful.
So, he pushed it back, taking visits to Alabama, Colorado and Miami first. Arriel was there for the Miami visit, which she described as “by far the best visit I’ve ever went on,” but on their way home, they decided to re-route to Texas A&M to check it off the list.
“The first thing I remembered is that he didn’t want to come on the visit,” Wiggins said. “But then, as he got here, we brought him in, and that was actually a day where Marcel practiced, and I think for every receiver, they want to have the ability to go somewhere where they feel like they can win, but all of them want to know, how am I getting the ball, but also who’s getting me the ball. Then we ended up tapping into the football piece, where we got a chance to show him how he would be used. Not as a gadget guy, but as a guy that we felt could play all three downs.”
Wiggins’ pedigree was also promising. He spent five seasons working under Nick Saban at Alabama, from 2019 to 2023, where he coached Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith and four other first-round NFL Draft selections in Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs III, Jameson Williams and Jerry Jeudy.
There was also head coach Mike Elko, who was familiar with Concepcion from his days as a head coach in the ACC at Duke. Suddenly, the destination that was an afterthought was his new home.
Concepcion described his relationship with Wiggins, who was Texas A&M’s wide receiver coach in 2025 before being promoted to OC, as “deeper than a player and coach.”
“He changed my life,” Concepcion said.
One of his favorite memories as an Aggie is the historic rally against South Carolina in which they erased a 30-3 deficit to complete the largest comeback win in school history, 31-30. Concepcion had a season-high seven catches for 158 yards. Texas A&M entered the College Football Playoff 11-1, but lost in the first round to eventual runner-up Miami.
What made Concepcion so productive was his knack for being able to see the game in a way most players on the field couldn’t. Wiggins praised Concepcion’s football intelligence, recalling moments when Concepcion would come off the field and break down exactly what went right — or wrong — for the offense. When Wiggins went back to his iPad to analyze it himself, he’d see exactly what Concepcion described.
“I’ve never had a player that could come back to the sideline and see it as clearly as he saw the game,” Wiggins said. “KC would come off the field with a clear view of the zones, where guys were, which guys could guard him, which couldn’t.
“That garners trust when you have a player who can be in a game (and) be able to make the necessary adjustments,” Wiggins continued. “Kudos to him just for his capacity as a football player and also for his knowledge and just what he’s been exposed to.”
For Concepcion, he described his football IQ as “just a gift.”
“I’ve been like this since I was 7 years old,” he said. “It’s just something I’ve been blessed with. It also comes from studying the game.”
One morning in February, Arriel woke up to a text that can quickly cause fear in today’s digital-first world.
“KC’s gone viral.”
Arriel had spent the previous evening celebrating a friend’s birthday, unplugged from her phone. Meanwhile, Concepcion was in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine, conducting interviews with teams and making his case to NFL coaches and general managers.
After Concepcion’s news conference, negativity spun online about his stutter, the speech impediment he has dealt with since he can remember talking. In response, Concepcion took to his Instagram story to speak up for himself.
“I just wanna say something if you have a speech impediment, there is nothing wrong with us,” Concepcion wrote. “I am blessed to be in the position that I am in and I want to help give back to those who are scared to speak up, who aren’t as confident.”
KC Concepcion went viral for his interviews at the NFL combine but his response earned rave reviews. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Arriel looked online, and instead of seeing the negativity, she saw Concepcion’s post and the way it resonated with so many others.
“Every blogger you can think of, every platform you can think of was reposting it, was supporting him. It literally brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “It felt like my son, who was once my baby, has now changed to a young man right before my eyes. It was just a bittersweet moment for me. I love the way he handled it, and I love the support that he received.”
Arriel isn’t sure if Concepcion’s speech impediment is hereditary, but his father also speaks with a stutter. Concepcion had speech therapy in elementary school and was always working on his speech casually around the house. As a kid, his stutter knocked his confidence. But now, Concepcion doesn’t let it define him.
“It’s just a part of me. It’s just who I am,” he said.
“He didn’t necessarily look down on himself for having a stutter,” Arriel said.
Concepcion said after the combine, former NBA forward and No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, reached out and complimented the way Concepcion handled the negativity. Kidd-Gilchrist also speaks with a stutter and founded the organization Change & Impact in 2021, which focuses on expanding resources for those who stutter and changing the social stigma around stuttering.
Other professional athletes, including Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., speak with stutters. Given the front-facing nature of being a professional athlete, negativity can follow these players more often — and more publicly. But Concepcion doesn’t want to let his stutter deter him from media interviews or public speaking. Instead, he wants to use his platform as a way to show he won’t let it hold him back.
“The thing that probably inspires me is just being able to be that person for the younger generation who might be going through the same things, who might not be as confident,” Concepcion said, “and just letting them know they’re not alone.”
For the past month, Concepcion has jetsetted to NFL facilities around the country. He said he has visited with about 10 teams and has enjoyed meeting coaches and establishing relationships.
Those connections will surely carry weight as he establishes his career at the next level. Whether it was opting to stick with the teammates he grew up playing with or committing to play for the school and coaching staff that showed him interest first, relationships are the common denominator to Concepcion’s story.
In college, that extended to his fans, too. Arriel remembers watching her son stay late after Texas A&M games to sign autographs or take down kids’ screen names to play video games against them (Concepcion’s other hobby when he’s not in the kitchen).
“KC was always known to have a big heart, even when he was little, he would share with anyone, he would give his last to anyone,” Arriel said. “Once he went on to college football, the way he embraced his fans really set him apart from a lot of people.”
As for what Concepcion can bring to the field, he points to his competitiveness.
“I love to work hard. I love to practice,” he said. “I bring the energy. I bring guys up with me. I make guys laugh. And, you know, I want to see my teammates win.”
Concepcion plans to watch Thursday’s first round with family and friends from their home in Charlotte. Playing in front of his loved ones at an NFL stadium is what excites Concepcion most about the next level.
But no party is complete without a meal. Concepcion is requesting soul food for the draft party menu. And as for the cooking?
“That’s somebody else’s duty for the night,” Concepcion said.
Dining and Cooking