Texas A&M is cooking with KC Concepcion, Mario Craver

COLLEGE STATION – As a child growing up in Charlotte, N.C., KC Concepcion paid close attention when his mother Ariel cooked. He made mental notes as she seasoned chicken breasts or pork chops, added the right spices for candied yams and baked a delicious macaroni and cheese casserole.

By the time KC Concepcion left for North Carolina State in 2023, he had collected his mother’s recipes. The recipes transferred along with Concepcion to Texas A&M.

Concepcion and the No. 9 Aggies (3-0) have something cooking, literally and figuratively, heading into their SEC opener against Auburn on Saturday afternoon at Kyle Field.

Concepcion, the oldest of seven siblings, loves to invite his Texas A&M teammates to eat at his place off campus. The quick, 5-foot-11, 190-pounder with a versatile repertoire on offense has an equally diverse skill set in the kitchen.

Concepcion can return a punt for a touchdown or blow past defensive backs on a crossing route and then unwind while making salmon for his teammates. 

‘Cooking all the time’

“He’s cooking all the time, man,” Texas A&M receiver Terry Bussey says of Concepcion. “He (messages) us all on the group chat almost every weekend. ‘You all pull up? I’m cooking.’”

When asked for his favorite dish Concepcion has made, Bussey didn’t hesitate.

“He has some good mac and cheese, I know that, and pork chops,” Bussey says.

Much like Concepcion in the kitchen, the Aggies’ wide receivers’ room has plenty of impressive ingredients. The main dish can be a different one on a game-by-game basis, though. If you put your best defensive back on Concepcion, as Notre Dame did, Mario Craver can explode for 207 yards and garner National Player of the Week honors, as he did earlier this month.

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If you bracket Concepcion and Craver with the game on the line on fourth-and-goal, as Notre Dame did, Marcel Reed might find a tight end on a linebacker for the winning touchdown. Nate Boerkircher proved as much at Notre Dame Stadium in Week 3.

The Craver-Concepcion tandem is the most productive in FBS this year, averaging an FBS-best 223.3 receiving yards per game. Craver’s 147.7 receiving yards per game are the most in FBS. Concepcion averages 75.7 yards a game, making Texas A&M one of only five schools with two receivers among the top 50 in receiving yards per game.

Versatile attack

Craver has a team-high four receiving touchdowns. Concepcion is second on the team with three receiving touchdowns. He also scored on an 80-yard punt return. Craver and Concepcion are tied with senior running back Le’Veon Moss for second on the team in touchdowns with four apiece.

Quarterback Marcel Reed is the only Aggie who has accounted for more touchdowns with 10 (nine passing, one rushing).

On special teams, Concepcion ranks No. 4 in the country with 28 yards per punt return. Bussey ranks No. 15 in the country in kick-return average with 31 yards per return. That average would be even more impressive if the kick he ran back for a touchdown against Notre Dame had not been nullified by a holding call before the Aggies’ winning drive in the fourth quarter.

Regardless, Bussey’s 234 combined kickoff and punt yardage are the most in the SEC and 10th most in the country.

Concepcion and Craver have both mentioned how they’ve helped to push each other and offer constructive criticism to help each other grow. Bussey, who was a freshman last season, has noticed a stronger bond on the team this season.

“We got a lot of guys that were quieter last year,” Bussey said. “And branching out now, getting to see everybody’s real self, everybody getting to be themselves, even the fresh guys that are coming in just jumping in and being themselves, you know you have a really good, tight bond when everybody can be themselves around each other.”

Mom’s recipes

Ariel Concepcion’s recipes and the open dinner invitations to KC Concepcion’s house definitely have helped the Aggies form bonds away from the field.

“I used to go inside and help her, you feel me,” Concepcion says. “I used to see the little seasons that she used. And I have stolen all her recipes.”

KC Concepcion’s text message to his teammates is usually a simple one: “If you have any guys hungry, you guys can come over.”

The menus over the last few months have included salmon, pork chops, yams, mac and cheese, rice, mashed potatoes, baked beans and broccoli with chicken breasts. 

“My favorite things to make are yams and mac and cheese and then I mix it all in,” he says. “That right there is the best combo in the nation.”

Some might say the same thing about Craver and Concepcion.