Cody Thorn
The Kansas City Chiefs held its annual pro day for athletes who grew up in the Kansas City area or attended colleges in the region on April 10.
Of the 33 names, only one of the players in the tryout was listed as a dual-position prospect: Zach Elam.
Yes, the same Zach Elam who is a wrestler for the University of Missouri.
Coming off an All-American season with a 30-4 record this year in his final season in Columbia.
“Coach (Brian) Smith and Coach (Dave) Toub have known each other for a while and he asked if I would be interested in going to the pro day,” Elam said. “I showed up and tried out.”
He was listed as a tight end and defensive end — those were two of his three positions when he was at Staley. The other was a long snapper.
Coming out of high school, Elam had chances to wrestle in college or play football. Air Force, Army, North Dakota State and Navy all had extended him offers and he took multiple visits to Iowa, but was never given an offer.
The tryout was the first time Elam was in pads since the 2017 Class 5 title game, a 36-35 win over Pattonsville.
“I haven’t been on the field in six years on a consistent basis but it definitely didn’t feel out of the norm,” he said. “It gave me an opportunity to make something out of it and if nothing comes out of it, I still had a chance.”
In what is a unique twist, this was not the first time Elam had been inside the Chiefs practice facility. His final high school practice was held at the same location….
