Top NFL Draft prospect writes moving letter about growing up with a stutter, the adversity he faced

Top NFL Draft imaginable KC Concepcion opened up astir increasing up with a stuttering contented successful a missive to wide managers.

Concepcion, a erstwhile Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver, opened his missive acknowledging his stuttering issues. The 21-year-old talked astir being made amusive of astatine schoolhouse due to the fact that of his stutter.

"The different kids astatine school, they’d announcement however I’d get stuck connected definite words. Or that it would instrumentality maine a 2nd to respond to the teacher, oregon to archer them my name," Concepcion wrote successful The Players Tribune. 

"And look — kids are mean sometimes. Simple arsenic that. They’d constituent astatine me, oregon marque faces, oregon rise their eyebrows, and past it’d beryllium like, ’What’s incorrect with you?!??!'" 

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Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver KC Concepcion runs for a touchdown against the Missouri Tigers astatine Faurot Field successful Columbia, Mo., Nov. 8, 2025. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)

"Or, ‘Why can’t you speech normal? Are you dumb oregon something????’ Dead successful my face. While cracking up laughing. Not with me, oregon even about me…. At me. Man … it was tough. 

"But that’s however it went for maine arsenic a small kid. Every day. Monday done Friday astatine school. There were truthful galore afternoons wherever I’d travel location from schoolhouse conscionable wholly bushed down. I’d beryllium crying my eyes retired to my mom, for real."

Concepcion wrote that his ma would bash everything she could to boost his confidence. The Rochester, New York, autochthonal said helium looked guardant to weekends due to the fact that it meant helium could beryllium himself and would get to play football.

However, arsenic the backmost of the team, helium said helium would person occupation getting the words retired erstwhile trying to telephone plays. Concepcion said that, during simple school, helium was successful code classes to effort to help, but thing seemed to work.

Concepcion said, 1 summertime aft the schoolhouse twelvemonth ended, his stutter was gone, but erstwhile helium returned to school, the stutter returned and hasn’t gone distant since. He said determination wasn’t anyone astatine the schoolhouse who was looking retired for him erstwhile helium was being made amusive of for his stutter.

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Texas A&M wideout KC Concepcion during the NFL Scouting Combine astatine Lucas Oil Stadium Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

"I’d emotion to archer you I had a clump of teachers looking retired for me, oregon different grownups astatine schoolhouse who would assistance maine woody with each the teasing, but that wasn’t truly the case. There besides wasn’t anyone I knew oregon could look up to who was dealing with thing similar. So I fundamentally conscionable benignant of figured things retired connected my own," Concepcion said.

"And backmost then, however I would woody with my concern is, a batch of times … I’d fundamentally conscionable not talk. Especially astir radical I didn’t know. And erstwhile I did person to talk up, I learned however to clap back. I had those comebacks ready, man! Sometimes that worked, and sometimes it didn’t. But it was like…. At slightest I’m doing something!" 

The disapproval Concepcion faced for his stutter continued astatine the NFL Scouting Combine successful March, and helium took to societal media to occurrence backmost astatine critics. More than 80 cardinal radical astir the world, including astir 3 cardinal Americans, woody with stuttering, according to The Stuttering Foundation.

Concepcion had a connection for kids dealing with stuttering issues.

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Texas A&M Aggies caput manager Mike Elko hugs Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver KC Concepcion (7) earlier a crippled against the Miami Hurricanes during the archetypal circular of the CFP astatine Kyle Field connected Dec. 20, 2025. (Maria Lysaker/Imagn Images)

"So, to immoderate kid retired determination who is carrying thing dense close present — a stutter, thing that makes you consciousness different, thing that’s ever made idiosyncratic look astatine you sideways … conscionable cognize this: My occurrence … it is your success, too," Concepcion wrote.

"I privation you to travel on connected this travel with me. Because you and me? We’re not weird. There is thing incorrect with us. Whatever makes you antithetic — that’s not the happening holding you back. That’s your thing. Own it. Be you, fully. Without apology."

With the Aggies past season, Concepcion caught 61 passes for 919 yards and 9 touchdowns, starring the SEC successful touchdowns. He was named to the All-American squad for the archetypal clip successful his collegiate vocation past season.

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