After 2 years apart, Daylan Smothers and Kevin Concepcion reunite in NC State’s offense
When Glenwood Ferebee arrived to coach at the now-named Charlotte (N.C.) Julius L. Chambers High, there was a pair of incoming freshmen that set themselves apart from the rest.
As he watched practice, a young offensive duo continued to stand out. Their work ethic was unmatched on the field, and Ferebee knew he had a different set of youngsters eager to make an impact.
Who were the two freshmen that appeared to be budding stars for the Cougars? Running back Daylan “Hollywood” Smothers and wide receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion.
“They were so fearless,” Ferebee said. “Some kids come in as freshmen, and they’re a little timid. Those two weren’t. You would have thought they’d been in high school a year or two the way they came out, the way they worked. It was different to see. I knew then that both of them were going to be special.”
Ferebee’s initial impression of Concepcion and Smothers was accurate. They started as freshmen at Chambers and helped lead the Cougars to back-to-back state championship appearances. Chambers won the 2020 edition over Rolesville (and current NC State wideout Noah Rogers), but lost to Cardinal Gibbons in the 2021 title game with the duo ask key pieces of the offense.
Smothers was a two-time North Carolina Mr. Football honoree at Chambers after he logged more than 2,700 rushing yards with 40 touchdowns between his sophomore and junior seasons. Concepcion, on the other hand, was a standout in his own right and he recorded 977 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns in his final two high school seasons.
Now, after Smothers spent his senior year of high school off the field and his freshman year of college football at Oklahoma, he has been reunited with Concepcion at NC State — just 153 miles from where the two starred together in the high school ranks.
The Oklahoma transfer made his commitment to the Wolfpack public on Tuesday, which Ferebee was glad to see.
“I was hoping when he was coming out of high school that he would have done that,” Ferebee said. “I was hoping that he went to NC State because I knew the type of impact that he would have there along with KC. He would have played early with KC and he would have had a significant impact as well.”
Concepcion starred for the Wolfpack in his freshman season with a team-leading 71 receptions for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also added 41 carries for 320 yards as NC State found creative ways to get the ball in his hands en route to an ACC Rookie of the Year selection.
While Concepcion was all over the field in Raleigh, Smothers redshirted this past season at Oklahoma and finished the year with 11 carries for 42 yards. Though Smothers was stuck in a deep backfield with the Sooners, he has the skill set to be an immediate impact player with the Wolfpack.
And with the two back in the same offense, NC State offensive coordinator Robert Anae will have a lot to work with — on top of the other high-ranking portal pickups and freshmen signees that the Pack brought in for 2024.
“Watching how they used KC, and now you add a kid that’s just as fast, just as quick, just as athletic as KC, it opens the playbook up so much,” Ferebee said. “I can’t wait to see how they use both of them.”
Where does Smothers fit into the offense? The running back will likely get carries out of the backfield, but Ferebee compared Smothers to the talent of Marshall Faulk — he can catch the ball just as well as he can run it.
That bodes well for NC State’s system under Anae. But if the two of them end up in the backfield together, which Concepcion was featured at quarterback and running back this season, defenses might not know which one to defend.
“I know they went in some wildcat sets with KC in the backfield, now you add a kid like Hollywood, what do you do?” Ferebee said. “You can’t focus on one of them and then leave the other one open because they’re going to be the same possible threats. … Now you put a guy back there with the same skill set as KC, you got to pick your poison. It’s going to be fun to see.”
While Concepcion and Smothers will present a challenge for opposing defenses, Ferebee kept coming back to the duo’s work ethic. It impressed him when they were brand new to high school, and it has been something the two have kept up at the college level.
Concepcion earned his way into the Wolfpack’s top wide receiving option on the practice field, and Smothers has continued to develop from the top-30 running back recruit he was out of high school according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
That work drive to improve helped raise the output level around the two in high school, and Ferebee was confident it will do the same at NC State this season and beyond.
“They’re going to up the level of the players around them,” Ferebee said. “They’re going to make the other guys on the team step up to their level. And now that they’ve got Noah Rogers, who we played in the state championship, it’s going to be scary, man. It’s going to be scary.”
The post After 2 years apart, Daylan Smothers and Kevin Concepcion reunite in NC State’s offense appeared first on On3.
