The entire world seems to be asking the same question. Where is sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion?
It was against this same team last year when NC State football was forced to make major changes to its offensive scheme after, in the words of head coach Dave Doeren, an “embarrassing” 24-3 loss to Duke.
The change that was made wasn’t that complicated. It was simple. Give the ball to then-freshman receiver Kevin Concepcion in any way possible, and it worked. NC State ripped off five straight wins after its loss to the Blue Devils and Concepcion was one of the biggest reasons why.
Concepcion recorded four games with over 100 yards from scrimmage and totaled six touchdowns over those last five games. He became the Wolfpack’s best running back and it seemed like there was nothing teams could do to stop him, even though they knew the ball was going to him one way or another.
He essentially became the Wolfpack’s offense and in turn won ACC Rookie of the Year as he set an NC State freshman record with 10 touchdown receptions.
It looked like his sophomore season would be much of the same when he started the year with a nine catch, 121-yard and three-touchdown performance against Western Carolina. But since the first game of the season, the most scrimmage yards Concepcion has recorded in a game was 55 yards against California. He entered the game against Duke with just 14 targets in the last three games and had only carried the ball 13 times all season.
In the Wolfpack’s 29-19 loss to Duke on Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium, Concepcion’s involvement in the offense hit a new low.
Concepcion had just one touch during the game — a four-yard carry in the fourth quarter. Even though Duke entered the game with the ACC’s best pass defense, freshman quarterback CJ Bailey didn’t think the Blue Devils’ defensive game plan was the reason why Concepcion didn’t contribute to the offense.
“Duke didn’t do anything to limit him,” Bailey said. “We did it ourselves, me and him. I missed him a lot. He didn’t make a couple plays for me as well. So it’s both our fault. Duke didn’t do anything. He did what he had to do to get open every time he was open. He had guys beat. He was working and we just couldn’t finish.”
Doeren had a different perspective than his freshman signal caller. Against Duke and all season, teams have put two players on him at all times. Whether it’s someone on his inside and outside or in zone defense there are players underneath and over the top of him.
It’s not something that Concepcion had to deal with much last season, but now he is the number one threat on every opponent’s scouting report.
“Last year really coming out of the bye it became kind of the [Concepcion] show and people weren’t as in tune,” Doeren said. “They had the whole off-season to listen to how good a player he is and obviously they’re paying attention. They’re doing a good job. They’re defending them well, and that’s why we’ve had to spread the ball around.”
While it’s true teams are paying attention to Concepcion more, the Pack still has to find ways to get him the ball more, especially in the redzone. Against the Blue Devils, the Wolfpack made six trips to the red zone and came away with four field goals and just one touchdown — an area Concepcion thrived in last season.
It’s harder to score touchdowns when the field shrinks, but a player with the shiftiness and route running of Concepcion can make things easier. It could be as simple as throwing him a screen or handing the ball off and more times than not Concepcion will make a positive play. On the one target Concepcion received in the red zone, he caught the ball in the endzone but the ball was thrown too late as he was pushed out of bounds before he got a foot down.
“We couldn’t finish in the red zone,” Bailey said. “We had those chances, and we missed a lot of shots. I missed a lot of shots, a lot of throws, and that I wish I could have back.”
The most confounding part of Concepcion’s regression from last season has been his involvement in the run game. He was NC State’s second-leading rusher last season and during that five-game winning streak to end the season, he rushed for 258 yards on 33 carries.
Through nine games, Concepcion has run the ball just 14 times for 33 yards. It’s not to say Concepcion should be the lead running back because that would take away from his playmaking ability as a slot receiver, but he proved last season that he can change the outcomes of games with his ability to run the ball.
In a game where the Wolfpack struggled to run, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, Concepcion received just one carry. When nothing else is working in the run game, why not hand the ball off to the most explosive player on offense?
He doesn’t have to get the ball every play because NC State does have playmakers outside of him like junior tight end Justin Joly, who leads the team in receiving yards, and redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers, who has the most games with 100 or more yards from scrimmage. But in a game where NC State struggled to move the ball, he has to have more than one touch.
Concepcion can’t go without any of the blame either. In the fourth quarter, he dropped passes on back-to-back drives where he could’ve taken off for an explosive play like he has multiple times in the past. But he was probably so shocked the ball was coming his way that he forgot how to catch the ball.
Jokes aside, the potential of the Wolfpack’s offense will never be unlocked if Concepcion isn’t getting the ball. When NC State force-fed him the ball last season, it proved to work, but the Pack has almost completely forgotten about him this season.
