NC State’s Kevin Concepcion named FWAA Freshman All-American
Just because the calendar flipped into 2024, that does not mean NC State freshman wide receiver Kevin Concepcion is done receiving awards. His latest one? A Football Writers of America Association Freshman All-America nod.
Concepcion is the first NC State player in program history to be named to the FWAA’s Freshman All-America squad.
The Charlotte, N.C., native can add that national honor to his already long list of awards from his standout first season in Raleigh. He was named the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year and On3’s National True Freshman Offensive Player of the Year at the end of the regular season. He also picked up a second team All-ACC selection, and was a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Award, which honors the best freshman in college football.
Concepcion quickly became NC State’s No. 1 wide receiver this fall, and he rose to the challenge in his first season of college football. He caught 71 passes for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns, while he added another 320 yards on the ground through 41 rushing attempts.
Concepcion now holds the NC State true freshman record for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns for his dominant play in the 2023 campaign.
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While he paced the team in both receptions and receiving yards, Concepcion had his first breakout game with six catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns at Virginia in Week 4. From then on, Concepcion was the engine that made the Wolfpack offense motor down the train tracks.
Concepcion followed that performance with eight catches for 102 yards and two more scores against Marshall two weeks later. After that, he did not have a game where he did not touch the ball at least eight times.
The wideout soon became a hybrid player, which featured him in the backfield as a running back or receiving a handoff on a jet sweep. Concepcion eased into the running role with four attempts at Duke, but he ended the season with a combined 31 carries for 177 yards in the Pack’s final four games of the season.
Concepcion’s season-best performance came in the Wolfpack’s final contest of the regular season, a 39-20 rout of North Carolina, a team that pursued him on the recruiting trail in high school. The wide receiver caught seven passes for a fall campaign-high 131 yards and two touchdowns, while he recorded a season-most 11 carries for 55 yards.
