The writing was on the wall for the NC State Wolfpack’s star receiver as soon as his younger brother de-committed on Nov. 17. Now, Kevin Concepcion will be a hot commodity when the transfer portal opens next week, as the elder Concepcion has announced his intentions to transfer from NC State.
While Concepcion technically can’t enter the portal until Dec. 9, his entry has already sparked reactions from across the country. Which teams could come after the do-it-all slot receiver, and which landing spots make the most sense for Concepcion?
Where Could Kevin Concepcion Transfer?
After breaking onto the scene as a freshman with 71 catches and over 1,150 yards from scrimmage, Concepcion took a step back during his sophomore year. In 2024, Concepcion had less than 500 total yards as he became an afterthought in the offense down the stretch.
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Perhaps NC State knew it would lose its star or he simply didn’t build a rapport with freshman quarterback C.J. Bailey, but Concepcion’s announcement of his intention to enter the portal caught no one at College Football Network by surprise.
He’s primarily a run-after-the-catch slot receiver, but he has also done a lot of work out of the backfield and has solid route-running abilities. I’d expect spread offenses in need of a slot receiver to make Concepcion one of the highest-priority targets. Here are five landing spots for Concepcion.
Tennessee Volunteers
If you were to build a slot receiver for Josh Heupel’s offense, he’d look a lot like Concepcion. Squirrel White is thriving in Heupel’s offense despite being smaller and arguably a tad slower than Concepcion. That’s not to say Concepcion would have to take White’s spot, as both have experience playing out wide, but he’d fill a similar role.
It’s incredibly early, but the Volunteers seem to have some buzz. We’ll need to see how the rest of the season shakes out as well as track who else enters the portal, but this makes a ton of sense.
Kansas State Wildcats
Concepcion has been in a situation where the quarterback position is a revolving door. That’s not the reason for his departure, as Bailey has seemingly already locked down the starting job for the Wolfpack next year, but Concepcion will likely look for a school with a stable quarterback situation.
The Kansas State Wildcats have Avery Johnson and need an established threat at receiver. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Arrion Concepcion, a 2025 recruit, just committed to the Wildcats last week. This is more than a “throw the team in because his brother committed” situation. The landing spot makes sense schematically as well.
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines have made it clear through their recruiting actions this cycle that they want to revitalize the passing game. They’ve also prioritized the city of Charlotte, N.C., in recent years. To my knowledge, they never really pushed for him out of high school, but they were undoubtedly aware of him as a prospect.
If the Wolverines are going to improve their passing attack, they’ll need some receivers, and Concepcion is the type of low-risk transfer that a team hungry to return to greatness will need.
Georgia Bulldogs
More than anything, Concepcion is a safety valve who can produce after the catch. That’s the type of player the Georgia Bulldogs have lacked this season, which has put more pressure on Carson Beck to push the ball down the field.
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Nothing has been easy for the Georgia passing offense. Concepcion can make things easy on whoever the Bulldogs’ quarterback is next season. We know Georgia likes to search the portal for proven talent, especially at the skill positions, and Concepcion fits that billing.
Colorado Buffaloes
There’s no inside info here, but any time a speedy receiver enters the transfer portal, you must be wary of Colorado. Deion Sanders’ squad will have to adjust to life without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, and I’m projecting five-star true freshman Julian Lewis to win the starting job next year.
Lewis is a point-guard type of quarterback with a quick release and excellent short-to-medium accuracy. Concepcion would work underneath and earn a lot of targets in a pass-happy offense in Boulder, Colo.
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