One of the top wide receivers from this year’s NFL Draft class calls Charlotte home -- former Julius Chambers High School standout receiver K.C. Concepcion is catching attention after earning the award for the most versatile player in all of college football.
Concepcion’s ability to adapt and excel isn’t exclusive to football. Channel 9’s DaShawn Brown spoke with his family members about how he’s been building up all of his life and continues to break free from what could’ve brought him down.
“I woke up and I go on Instagram, and my kid is literally everywhere,” said Arriel Concepcion, K.C.’s mother.
During the NFL Combine, Concepcion went viral not for his skill, but instead for his stutter. His response went viral, too.
“I posted that message for people who may be afraid to speak up, who may have a stutter, who may not be as confident as me,” K.C. said.
In an Instagram post, he wrote, “there’s nothing wrong with us ... we’re different for a reason.”
And to know his story, you’ll know this isn’t the first hurdle Concepcion has cleared, it’s only the latest.
“Going to the practices, the trainings, the tournaments, different states … even getting the latest game systems that came out, I just wanted their life to continue as what they knew it to be until their father returned home," Arriel said.
“When I was younger, my father went to prison, when I was about 10 years old I think,” K.C. told Channel 9. “Just seeing some of the pain that she went through ... it drives me, honestly.”
K.C. says his father was the first to put a football in his 4-year-old hands, and he pushed him to grow as a player.
“I’m talking 5, 6 years old, I’m running steps, I’m running hills, I’m running gassers, I’m running stadiums,” K.C. said.
But as he ascended, K.C.’s father wasn’t there to see it.
“He missed all of high school, he missed my first years in college, and he was able to make it my last year in college,” K.C. said. “I kind of carry that with me. That’s my dad’s first time seeing me play -- every chance I get, I’m going to put on a show.”
And did he ever -- K.C. was named First Team All-Conference last year with Texas A&M, and First-Team AP All-American.
“He is my dad, you know, a lot of people do make mistakes, it’s not right to judge people for their past,” K.C. said.
“I just want to give thanks to his whole village. His father, when he was younger, he coached him ... and he created that dog mentality in K.C., so Kudos to him,” Arriel said. “My sister, all of my siblings, my brothers, his father’s side of the family - his grandmother and great grandmother, flying into the games, the college games when his father wasn’t able to be there. I mean, there are so many people ... I just want to give thanks to them because if it wasn’t for all of us as a whole, K.C. wouldn’t be where he is today.”